Supplementary MAC Grant Documentation for the MidSouth Music Institute
A brief overview of the classes, festivals, concerts, and activities of the MidSouth Music Institute are depicted below. A digital copy of our annual program book and links to our Facebook and Instagram pages provide a picture of the many ways the organization seeks to make the world a better place through the gift of music.
AA Full Book with Bleed 24-25 by CoroRio Choirs
For the 2024-2025 Season, CoroRio is reaching 105 students in the 1st-12th grades with weekly choral ensemble classes through six choral ensembles. The structure of these ensembles is decided via a meet-and-greet audition process between the student and the directors, and placement is based on skill acquisition rather than directly on age or grade level. Our newest ensemble, CoroRio Oxford, was introduced this season with a shortened semester based approach as a responsible, soft opening practice.
These ensembles collaborate with one another and with the Mississippi River Chorale on a regular basis for performances, as well as a variety of other local school, community, and professional music ensembles.
By including the First Steps in Music Preschool Class and the Mississippi River Chorale in the MidSouth Music Institute offerings, we seek to bring music "from womb to tomb" to our community. During the 2024-2025 Season, First Steps is Serving 15 students ages 2-5 and the Mississippi River Chorale serves over 50 adult singers, ranging from 18 to 70 years of age.
Below are images and videos from four of our major events throughout the season, including Christmas with CoroRio, the Bluff City Choral Festival, the Elementary Honor Choir Festival, and Camp CoroRio, as well as links to programs from these events and others, including our annual Teacher Professional Development Workshop and various MRC and student choir concerts.
Elementary Honor Choir Festival Concert
Christmas with CoroRio is held annually at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis, TN and is the product of many collaborative relationships and many artists and art forms. Every CoroRio choir takes part, collaborating with the Hernando High School Symphonic Winds, a professionally hired string ensemble, the LRP Dance Studio, and J. Rodney Leath, who paints live on stage throughout the concert. 172 students and 78 adults took the stage for the 2024 program.
A video of the 2024 Concert is available to view here.
The 2025 Bluff City Choral Festival will take place April 11th and 12th at the Heindl Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Northwest Community College. There are 8 middle schools and 10 high schools scheduled to attend, representing 31 choral ensembles and over 800 students from across Mississippi and over midsouth states.
At Camp CoroRio 2024:
- 5 Preschool Students
- 31 Elementary Students
- 17 Middle School Students
- 32 High School Students
- 14 staff artists
- 8 guest artists
- Choral ensemble classes for students of all ages and ability levels
- Break out classes in ukulele, Orff instruments, bucket drumming, song writing, handbells, Pop a capella, musical theater, college audition prep workshop, and more!
