CAPITAL CITY GIRLS CHOIR (CCGC)
If you are interested in joining our choir please contact us at ccgc@meredith.edu or register here. We are able to offer scholarships for annual tuition as well as travel.
The Capital City Girls Choir (CCGC) is a vocal and music training program for girls aged 9-18 from Raleigh, North Carolina, and the surrounding communities. CCGC is associated with the community outreach program of the Department of Music at Meredith College.
About Capital City Girls Choir (CCGC) Program
The three choirs of the Capital City Girls Choir are open to singers from ages nine through eighteen. CCGC has performed at the North Carolina Museum of Art, the White House, the Washington National Cathedral, the Crescent City Choral Festival, Canterbury and London, England, Salzburg and Vienna, Austria, and at various venues in Caen, the Loire Valley, Normandy and Mont-Saint-Michel, France and British Columbia.
History
Founded in 1987 as a community outreach of Meredith College by Dr. Fran M. Page, the Capital City Girls Choir is one of the nation’s premier choral music education programs for young people. Weekly training encompasses musicianship, theory, and group vocal instruction and practice. The choirs give concerts at Meredith and throughout the local community, and have been invited to sing at prestigious choral festivals regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Choir members have performed with noted conductors including Jean Ashworth Bartle, David Brunner, Joan Gregory, Barbara Tagg, Z. Randall Stroope, Lynn Gackle, Henry Leck and other renowned composers and conductors.
Select Performances
- North Carolina Symphony – Raleigh, NC, 2011
- Raleigh Symphony Orchestra – Raleigh, NC, 2003
- National Opera Company
- Piedmont Invitational Children’s Choir Festival – Various locales in NC, Annually
- Appalachian Children’s Chorus Festival of Young Voices – Charleston, WV, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018
- Children in Harmony Festival at Walt Disney World – Orlando, 2002, 2007
- Crescent City Choral Festival – New Orleans, 2006
- North Carolina Summer Institute of Choral Arts – Boone, NC, 2002
- Rotunda of State Capitol – Raleigh, NC
- Governor’s Mansion – Raleigh, NC
- Tryon Palace – New Bern, NC
- Sertoma Arts Center – Raleigh, NC
- Spoleto Festival – Charleston, SC
- Washington National Cathedral – Washington, DC
- London and Canterbury, England
- North Carolina Opera – Raleigh, NC 2022
- England & Wales 30th Anniversary Tour, 2017 – including the 70th annual Llangollen International Music Festival in Northern Wales with two-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Christopher Tin, in his Calling All Dawns song cycle
- Italy, 2011
- France, 2009
- Children in Harmony Festival at Walt Disney World – Orlando, 2002, 2007
- Mozart’s 250th Birthday Celebration – Salzburg and Vienna, Austria, 2006
- International Choral Kathaumixw Program – British Columbia, Canada, 2004
- The White House
- North Carolina Governor’s Mansion
Capital City Girls Choir Season 36
These rehearsals will be in person on Meredith College’s campus.
Chorus: 5-6:15 p.m.
Chorale and Cantabile: 6-7:30 p.m
Upcoming Dates: TBA
Choirs
Girls Chorus
Our training choir is for beginning singers, typically between 9 and 12 years old. No travel outside the Raleigh area is required for performances.
After a successful audition, the prospective chorister is invited to join CCGC and become a member of the Girls’ Chorus, the CCGC training choir. As a member of Chorus, girls are expected to master rhythm and Solfege syllables, basic music theory, and the skills of an experienced choir member.
Young choristers will spend a few years in Chorus. When the director feels she has mastered the required skills, she will be invited to audition for Chorale.
After a successful audition, the prospective chorister is invited to join CCGC and become a member of the Girls’ Chorus, the CCGC training choir. As a member of Chorus, girls are expected to master rhythm and Solfege syllables, basic music theory, and the skills of an experienced choir member.
Cantabile Singers is the advanced choir, made up of young ladies in upper middle school and high school. Membership in this choir requires a high level of musicianship, maturity, and commitment. The audition includes performance of a solo, as well as demonstration of rhythm and other musicianship skills, including sight-singing. 2000-2001 was the first year for the Cantabile Singers as a full time choir. In the past, the Cantabile Singers have performed as a small ensemble, comprised of selected members of Chorale. Participation requires more frequent performances and travel out of state or out of the country every other year.
Staff
Cameron Bolin, Artistic Director
Cameron Bolin brings 15 years of teaching and choral directing from grades K-12 in the Triangle area. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Teaching in Music K-12 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is working on her Doctorate in Music Education from Boston University.
Bolin’s experiences in CGCC contributed to her decision to pursue a music career. She is the first artistic director who is an alumna of CCGC.
Natalie Overton, Administrative Assistant
Claudia Hinson, Accompanist
Claudia Hinson is an active, collaborative pianist in the Triangle area and beyond, working with vocalists, instrumentalists, and various ensembles in both classical and theatrical genres. She has performed in various musical theatre productions in the area and formerly served as part-time Staff Accompanist at Meredith College for over 20 years. As a Magna Cum Laude graduate of East Carolina University, she earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Pedagogy and Music Business, with two years concentration in Performance and Music Therapy. Further education includes Summa Cum Laude honors from The University of Georgia, where she completed her Master of Education. She has served as Private Piano Instructor at Ravenscroft School for the past 15 years and continues to do freelance accompanying in the community as much as possible. As a teacher, church musician, professional accompanist, and adjudicator, she has had the privilege of working with many professionals and students all over the state. She maintains a membership with RPTA, NCMTA, as well as MTNA, She is extremely excited to be working with Meredith College again and is looking forward to accompanying CCGC for their 35th season!
Fran McCachern Page, Founder
Fran Page is Professor Emeritus from Meredith College and founder of the Capital City Girls Choir. During her 36-year tenure, she served in many capacities, including Chair of the Department of Communication and Performing Arts, Coordinator of Music Education and Director of Choral Activities. Dr. Page is a Past-President of the North Carolina Music Educators Association and Past Chair of the Arts Education Leadership Coalition (AELC). She is past President of Southern Division MENC: The National Association for Music Education and in that capacity served on its National Executive Board. In July of 2004, she was named “Tar Heel of the Week” by the Raleigh News and Observer and in the spring of 2007, she was designated by the Capital City Girls Choir as an MENC Lowell Mason Fellow.
Dr. Page has a B.A. in music education from Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina and a M.M. and Ed. D. in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds Orff Levels I, II, and III certification. Recognized for her expertise as a children’s choral specialist, she frequently conducts workshops and festivals. She also has done considerable work in the area of curriculum integration and arts curriculum planning and assessment and consults with schools in that capacity. Dr. Page has served on many teacher education program approval teams for the NC Department of Public Instruction.
In May 2018, Dr. Page was presented the Order of the Longleaf Pine. Among the most prestigious awards conferred by the Governor of North Carolina, it is awarded to persons for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and their communities that is above and beyond the call of duty and which has made a significant impact and strengthened North Carolina. In November 2018, Dr. Page was also awarded the Raleigh Medal of Arts, the city’s highest arts honor.
