Sophomore Peyten Ivy used to sing with the Deer Creek Youth Choir, or the DCYC. It is a choir that takes singers from second grade to ninth grade. Grades two through five practice together and are called Jubilate, and grades six through nine practice together and are called Vivace. “Once a month, we have combined rehearsals. [Teacher] Julie Culotta started it eight years ago. We perform with the Deer Creek Chorale,” says Ivy.
Ivy loves singing with the choir because “it teaches a healthy and fun first relationship with music. A lot of the kids in Jubilate have never sung before. There’s a lot to learn, but this is the perfect place for it, since [Culotta] is such a wonderful conductor and knows what to focus on with the kids to make sure they learn and grow,” she adds.
Ivy doesn’t just sing with the choir anymore; she interns, which means she helps the younger kids in the Jubilate choir. Ivy says she “started interning as soon as I found out it was an option. In June of this year, I was invited to sing with the alumni of DCYC who were now in high school. I learned high schoolers could come sing with the younger children and intern, so I signed up to sing with them this year.”
While interning, Ivy is “still learning how to help the directors, connect with the kids, all while learning the songs myself. Right now I’m just singing out, because I know the kids need to hear a strong voice to go off of.” Ivy also says, “I can already see so much growth within the kids because of [Culotta’s] teaching, and we’ve only been working for over a month now. I haven’t had the chance to work with Stacy [ the fellow director] much, but she’s also amazing. Both directors are used to working with kids and are amazing and effective teachers.”
This experience has helped Ivy decide that she wants to go into the teaching field. “I love the idea of being a high school choir teacher and this is definitely helping me figure out how it is rounding up a bunch of kids to produce an end product one day,” says Ivy.