Above: guest conductor Dr. Bryson Mortensen leading the 2016 Young Singers Project in performance at Norfolk's Ohef Sholom Temple.
EDUCATION
YOUNG SINGERS PROJECT
Now entering its twenty-third year, the Young Singers Project is the Virginia Chorale's flagship educational outreach program. The YSP is a unique opportunity for select high school students from across the region to be mentored by the professional singers of the Chorale in an intensive rehearsal and performance process. YSP alumni have gone on to study at the finest conservatories in the United States and are active musicians (both professional and amateur) across Virginia and beyond.
The Young Singers Project showcases some of the best high school singers in southeastern Virginia. Students are selected in a highly competitive audition process each fall; once selected they sing alongside and are mentored by professional singers from the Chorale. Our 2024 YSP ensemble will be conducted by Annedore Hacker-Jakobi and will take on a new and exciting opportunity for the students. The YSP ensemble will focus on European choral music, spanning from the renaissance to the 20th century, incorporating different languages and chamber choir ensemble sizes. Along with repertoire preparation, rehearsal sessions will focus on healthy vocal technique, musicianship, and choral artistry.
In 2017, The Virginia Chorale was proud to join WHRO Community TV in a special partnership: the 2017 Young Singers Project was filmed by WHRO - from auditions to performance - and produced as a documentary, Young Singers Project: A Life in 140 Characters, which has been broadcast locally, streamed online, and made available to National Public Television for national broadcast.
Registration for YSP 2024 auditions is now closed.
The Young Singers Project showcases some of the best high school singers in southeastern Virginia. Students are selected in a highly competitive audition process each fall; once selected they sing alongside and are mentored by professional singers from the Chorale. Our 2024 YSP ensemble will be conducted by Annedore Hacker-Jakobi and will take on a new and exciting opportunity for the students. The YSP ensemble will focus on European choral music, spanning from the renaissance to the 20th century, incorporating different languages and chamber choir ensemble sizes. Along with repertoire preparation, rehearsal sessions will focus on healthy vocal technique, musicianship, and choral artistry.
In 2017, The Virginia Chorale was proud to join WHRO Community TV in a special partnership: the 2017 Young Singers Project was filmed by WHRO - from auditions to performance - and produced as a documentary, Young Singers Project: A Life in 140 Characters, which has been broadcast locally, streamed online, and made available to National Public Television for national broadcast.
Registration for YSP 2024 auditions is now closed.
About the Conductor
Annedore Hacker-Jakobi is University Professor for Choral Conducting at the University of Music in Hamburg (Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg), where she teaches choral conducting and conducts the Church Music Choir and the Women’s Choir. She founded a select choir consisting of the best choral singers from the University to create a studio choir for masterclasses. She cooperates with various departments of the university, including the theater department and the multimedia department to carry out contemporary music projects.
She is an Assistant Professor at the Music Academy of Schleswig Holstein and co-founder of the new “Nordklang Festival” in northern Germany, which promotes chamber choirs and offers masterclasses and workshops for choral singers and conductors.
Hacker-Jakobi enjoys working with choirs of varying levels. She directs the Hamburg-Volksdorf Symphonic Choir as well as the staff choir at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg concert hall. Before moving to the northern part of Germany, she held positions as Assistant Professor at the University in Karlsruhe and the Church Music University in Rottenburg, Stuttgart and was Music Director at the Kammertheater Karlsruhe (theater), which also included arranging and composing.
In 2023 she was selected as one of six conductors in Germany to participate in the ACDA International Conductors Exchange program.
Annedore Hacker-Jakobi was born in Algiers, Algeria. At the age of 4 her family moved to Germany, and she grow upon Lake Constance. She studied music education and choral conducting at the University of Music in Karlsruhe and received further diploma (equivalent of a masters in music) in choral and orchestral conducting at the University of Music in Würzburg, Bavaria. During her studies she was awarded a scholarship to study abroad in Finland. Hacker-Jakobi is currently taking a sabbatical and lives with her husband and her first child in Norfolk, Virginia. There she was asked to conduct the military spouses Choir (“Sisterhood Choir) of the international NATO Community.
She is an Assistant Professor at the Music Academy of Schleswig Holstein and co-founder of the new “Nordklang Festival” in northern Germany, which promotes chamber choirs and offers masterclasses and workshops for choral singers and conductors.
Hacker-Jakobi enjoys working with choirs of varying levels. She directs the Hamburg-Volksdorf Symphonic Choir as well as the staff choir at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg concert hall. Before moving to the northern part of Germany, she held positions as Assistant Professor at the University in Karlsruhe and the Church Music University in Rottenburg, Stuttgart and was Music Director at the Kammertheater Karlsruhe (theater), which also included arranging and composing.
In 2023 she was selected as one of six conductors in Germany to participate in the ACDA International Conductors Exchange program.
Annedore Hacker-Jakobi was born in Algiers, Algeria. At the age of 4 her family moved to Germany, and she grow upon Lake Constance. She studied music education and choral conducting at the University of Music in Karlsruhe and received further diploma (equivalent of a masters in music) in choral and orchestral conducting at the University of Music in Würzburg, Bavaria. During her studies she was awarded a scholarship to study abroad in Finland. Hacker-Jakobi is currently taking a sabbatical and lives with her husband and her first child in Norfolk, Virginia. There she was asked to conduct the military spouses Choir (“Sisterhood Choir) of the international NATO Community.
2024 Performance
Young Singers Project in Concert
January 28, 2024 | 4:00 PM
Virginia Wesleyan University
Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center
January 28, 2024 | 4:00 PM
Virginia Wesleyan University
Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center
As a homeschool student, YSP was the perfect program for me to be challenged and learn beautiful music side by side other very talented musicians. Everyone involved was incredibly supportive, helpful, and extremely easy and fun to work with. I would recommend YSP to any high schooler wanting to grow in their musicianship as a singer and performer."
Ava Stevenson, YSP 2020
Ava is currently pursuing her Bachelors in vocal performance at Old Dominion University.
Ava Stevenson, YSP 2020
Ava is currently pursuing her Bachelors in vocal performance at Old Dominion University.
YSP was my first experience in a professional choir. Being able to work alongside the members of the Virginia Chorale and be mentored by them was an invaluable experience. This experience ultimately helped me get into college. I started taking private voice lessons with a Chorale member to prep for auditions, and ended up going to the college the YSP guest conductor was from. The professional relationships that I built during YSP have continued to contribute to my musical career, as I am now a member of the Virginia Chorale myself (which has been an aspiration of mine since participating in YSP).
Serena Stump YSP 2017
Serena received her BMA in Applied Music with a concentration in Choral/Vocal Music from Virginia Wesleyan University, summa cum laude (2021) and MAEd from VWU (2022)
Serena Stump YSP 2017
Serena received her BMA in Applied Music with a concentration in Choral/Vocal Music from Virginia Wesleyan University, summa cum laude (2021) and MAEd from VWU (2022)
I absolutely loved YSP. It was an amazing experience that I will always remember fondly. The difficulty of the music was very motivating and really made the choir something special. We weren't just another high school choir, we really accomplished a lot of things. Using the Chorale members and the professionalism of the director had a huge impact on the way I sing and the way I approach choral music.
Jon Paul, YSP 2012-14
Currently pursuing a degree in Nuclear Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.
Jon Paul, YSP 2012-14
Currently pursuing a degree in Nuclear Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.
The Young Singers Project was the best music program I have ever been a part of. Having a mentor to help us learn these challenging pieces and grow as musicians is such a great experience and one I will never forget.
Rylee Worstell, YSP 2015-16
Currently a senior at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, VA.
Rylee Worstell, YSP 2015-16
Currently a senior at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, VA.
I loved YSP! The entire experience was a challenge and it pushed me in my music-reading ability.
Cailin Gwaltney, YSP 2014
Currently pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
Cailin Gwaltney, YSP 2014
Currently pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
