H+H Youth Choruses
Youth Chorale
"The teachers are amazing and they balance fun with learning very well." — HHYC Singer
Youth Chorale (grades 6-9) performed at the dedication of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge on national television with Bruce Springsteen, and has sung for the Democratic National Convention, at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) division conference, and in performances with other area organizations including the Boston Lyric Opera, Brookline Chorus, and Heritage Chorale. Youth Chorale regularly collaborates with children’s choirs and recently sang with the Cape Cod Children’s Chorus and Rhode Island Children’s Chorus.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals for Youth Chorale are on Saturdays at 10:00am-12:15pm. All Youth Chorale singers have a weekly ensemble rehearsal and musicianship class. Three levels of musicianship classes are offered for Youth Chorale singers. The HHYC season lasts from September to May. Rehearsals and classes take place at United Parish in Brookline.
Faculty
Michele Adams, conductor
Becca Crivello, associate conductor
June Chen, collaborative pianist
Tuition
Tuition is $700 for the full year or $350 per semester. Full and partial scholarships are offered for families demonstrating financial need. Families registering more than one singer pay full tuition for one singer and reduced tuition for all additional singers from their household.
Watch + Listen
Faculty
Conductor
Michele Adams
Michele Adams is thrilled to join the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses for the 2023-2024 season, conducting the Concert Choir and Youth Chorale. She is pleased to continue working with young artists, having previously served on the artistic teams of the Boston Children's Chorus and the Nebraska Children's Chorus. She is currently the Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center of MetroWest, where she oversees the organization's mission to create a welcoming community, providing education and performance and opportunities in music, theater, dance. She oversees all operational, development, and marketing efforts of the organization.
Adams served for ten seasons as the Director of Choirs for the award-winning Boston Children’s Chorus, where her ensembles were described as “splendid” (The Wall Street Journal) and “eloquent and perfectly-tuned” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). She conducted choirs of all levels and managed the innovative education program. Adams has also held artistic, teaching, and administrative positions in myriad public, private, and non-profit institutions, bringing arts programming to constituents of all ages. Adams is an active guest conductor, educator, and adjudicator. In recent years, she conducted honor choirs in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, prepared children’s choirs in opera premieres, and presented sessions for the American Choral Directors Association.
Adams studied choral conducting, music education, and voice at the University of South Carolina, Florida State University, and the New England Conservatory of Music. Her greatest musical passion is choral conducting, especially children’s choruses. She lives in MetroWest with her husband and two daughters.
Associate Conductor
Becca Crivello
Becca Crivello is excited to be in her second season with HHYC as the Associate Conductor of Youth Chorale and Concert Choir! She is currently the Choral Director at Hudson Memorial School in Hudson, New Hampshire, where she teaches grades 6-8 curricular choirs, an auditioned extracurricular choir, and the annual musical.
Crivello earned a B.M. in Music Studies (Education) with a minor in Italian Studies from UMass Lowell and an M.M in Music Education from Boston University. While at UMass Lowell, she was actively involved in the a cappella community, founding and directing The Hawkettes, a female-identified a cappella group. Upon graduating from Boston University, she received the Departmental Award in Music Education from the College of Fine Arts.
Her ensemble experience includes performing with the University Singers and Chamber Singers at UMass Lowell; BU Singers, Symphonic Chorus, and Graduate Vocal Ensemble at Boston University; New Hampshire Master Chorale; The Common Voice at UMass Lowell; and the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop. As a conductor, she served as the Conducting Intern for Cappella Clausura and participated in Choral Chameleon’s Conducting Institute.
Crivello is currently the President of the New Hampshire chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and serves as the R&R Chair for Contemporary and Commercial Music. She lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband.
Collaborative Pianist
June chen
June Chen, a native of Taiwan, is a dedicated music educator and collaborative pianist. She received her master’s degree in piano performance from Yale University and a D.M.A. from Boston University. She has performed internationally, and garnered prizes that resulted in concerto appearances. June currently teaches at the South Shore Conservatory and is very excited to join the Handel+Haydn Society Youth Choruses as a collaborative pianist for the Youth Choruses.