Northwest Girlchoir is an independent community music education and performance organization for girls and young women. Now in its 42nd year, Northwest Girlchoir serves 250 singers, ages 6-18, from the Seattle, Washington and Puget Sound region. Amore, one of six choir levels at Northwest Girlchoir, is comprised of young women ages 15-18. Choristers learn musicianship, vocal technique, and performance skills and participate in season concerts, arts collaborations, community events, and regional, national, and international festivals and tours. Amore has performed with outstanding Seattle arts organizations including: the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Men’s Chorus, Seattle Pro Musica, Opus 7, and Choral Arts and was a featured performer at the 2013 Chorus America National Conference. Northwest Girlchoir further contributes to the local and national arts community through its commissioning program; recent new works have been written for Northwest Girlchoir by Seattle composers Karen P. Thomas, Eric Banks, John Muehleisen and Boston composer Nick Page.
Northwest Girlchoir values diversity – among its choristers and their families, in its selection of repertoire, and in the lessons gained from international travel and exchanges. Northwest Girlchoir toured recently to: France & England (2013), Finland & Estonia (2011), Australia (2009), and Croatia, Slovenia & Northern Italy (2007). In 2001, Northwest Girlchoir was fortunate to travel and perform in southern Italy and Sicily. Northwest Girlchoir has also hosted visiting national and international choirs, including the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Gondwana Voices of Australia, and the Danish National Girls Choir. Northwest Girlchoir’s recent festival appearances include PICCFEST (Pacific International Children’s Choir Festival) in Eugene, Oregon and the Sing-A-Mile-High Festival in Denver, Colorado.
Sara Boos is in her twelfth year as Artistic Director of Northwest Girlchoir, where she oversees the performance and education programs of the organization and conducts the Fresca, Amore, and Ensemble levels. Her choirs have collaborated with the Seattle Symphony, Opus 7, Seattle Pro Musica, and Choral Arts Northwest and have been invited to sing at many festivals and events, including the 2013 Chorus America National Conference, American Masterpieces Choral Festival, Northwest Folklife Festival, and Festival 500. Sara has led Northwest Girlchoir Amore on international tours to France/England, Finland/Estonia, Australia, Croatia/Slovenia/Italy, and Canada. A native Midwesterner, Sara has music education degrees from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and Michigan State University. She has a wide variety of teaching and conducting experience, including choral and general music at the elementary through university levels, for adult and children’s church choirs, and at Minnesota’s state maximum-security women’s prison. Sara enjoys music making from both sides of the podium. In Minnesota, she was a member of the Dale Warland Singers, one of America’s premier a cappella professional choirs; in Seattle, she has sung with Mirinesse Women’s Choir, Seattle Pro Musica, Opus 7, and the St. James Cathedral. Sara has served as a guest conductor and presenter for the Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Schools, Northwest and National ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), and Western Washington University. She is a founding board member of the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium, which promotes the work of 70 independent (non-school, -university, -church) choirs in the greater Seattle area.
Lead accompanist Andrew Seifert joined Northwest Girlchoir, where he accompanies three choir levels and is co-teacher of the advanced beginner choir level, Amabile (ages 11-13). He serves as Northwest Girlchoir’s arranger/orchestrator, vocal coach, and sectional leader. For several years, Andrew was also Northwest Girlchoir’s tour manager and a member of the administrative staff. Andrew has conducting degrees from Chapman University (California) and the University of Washington (Seattle) as well as a Doctorate in Opera Production from the University of Washington. He began his professional operatic directing career in his native Napa, California, producing zarzuela (Spanish operetta) for four seasons at the Jarvis Conservatory. Andrew recently directed a production of Puccini’s La bohème for the Teatro Bramante (Urbania, Italy) and the world premiere of Seattle-based composer Gloria Swisher’s opera Poker Alice. Andrew is Director of Choirs at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Lynnwood, Washington.
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