Board President Kathryn Lemish is the Assistant Vice President for Lincoln Financial Group. She first got involved as a volunteer for FWCC when her oldest daughter Nora joined the Apprentice Choir when she was 8.Why is FWCC important to our community?
The FWCC does several things for our community. First, they teach children how to read music and sing, which gives them an opportunity to partake in a lifetime of performing. Even if they don’t sing as a profession, the FWCC teaches them the skills to pick up a piece of music, read it, and make music with others. Secondly, the FWCC teaches performance skills that transcend singing. Students learn to be confident on stage in front of other people, which is a skill that is valuable long after they stop singing with the Children’s Choir. Lastly, the FWCC brings children from different backgrounds, schools, and abilities together and helps them make something beautiful together – something where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The world can use more of that!
What were you surprised to learn about FWCC?
How extensive the music education the FWCC teaches is. My husband and I both have Bachelor’s degrees in music and we were shocked when we observed a rehearsal and saw what the singers were learning. There are college music majors who don’t can’t do what some of the FWCC students can do!
Do you have a favorite FWCC memory?
I went on tour with the choir a few years ago. There were several times where the students would sing an impromptu song at a restaurant or other location. Watching the looks on the faces of the people seeing our kids sing for the first time was wonderful. Of course we all know how good the choirs are, but it was really fun to see others discover them for the first time.
In your opinion, how does FWCC impact its singers?
The FWCC gives singers tools, confidence, poise, and a music education that allows them to experience a lifetime of joy through music.