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About Us
Mission and Philosophy
Children's Chorus of Maryland empowers
musical children and promotes the fine art of music. We achieve our
mission by providing children with the tools of self-expression, through
choral music education and professional performance opportunities, in a
program dedicated to excellence, aesthetic sensitivity, play-based
learning, respect, and diversity.
 We believe that music communicates the
essence of the human spirit. We also believe that what is best about us
has been recorded in our musical heritage, and in teaching this language
to children we are passing on an essential part of the human experience
to future generations. Just as our students develop and mature into fine
musicians, they evolve into capable young men and women who have
individually mastered the skills of personal and collaborative
commitment. These ideals include discipline, dedication to both short-
and long-term goals, respect for peers and teachers, self-respect, the
ability to work within a group towards a common goal, and recognition of
the value of hard work to achieve what is truly fine. These qualities
will enrich their lives and communities as they reach adulthood and
carve out their places in the world.
 History and Performances
Betty Bertaux founded the Children’s
Chorus of Maryland (CCM) in 1976 with a core group of six children who
met in a private home. Her goal was, and still is, to provide children
with exemplary vocal music education and with performance opportunities
equal to their accomplishments and to the organization’s curriculum
standards. After a period of absence, Dr. Bertaux returned to CCM in
1999. CCM can presently accommodate approximately 120 students.
Examples of CCM performance venues and
partners include:
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Alice Tully Hall, New York City
American tours to New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma
Annapolis Opera Company
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Baltimore Opera Company
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Canada tours to Nova Scotia and Banff, Alberta
Carnegie Hall, New York City
Charlestown Chapel Series
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Concert Artists of Baltimore
Disney World
Gordon Center
Handel Choir of Baltimore
Junior League’s "Holiday Pops"
Maryland Historical Society
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
National Basilica, Wash., D.C.
Port Discovery, Inner Harbor
2nd Presbyterian Concert Series
Shriver Hall Concert Series
The White House
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In 1998, CCM competed with 210 choirs
from around the country and was selected to be the featured choir at the
Eighth Annual Choral Festival in New York City held at Carnegie Hall.
After the 35-minute opening performance, our choristers received a
standing ovation from an audience of music professionals. CCM choristers
were invited to perform at Carnegie Hall again in June, 2003, and again
received a standing ovation from a full house.
 Communities Served
The CCM conservatory program is open to all
children ages 5 1/2 to 16 who qualify by passing an audition. Students
usually come from Baltimore City and Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard and
Harford Counties. Our live audiences come from many areas of the state,
country or world, depending on our itineraries. Televised performances
have included local and worldwide broadcasts. In 1995, CCM was
proclaimed by Governor Schaefer to be the official Children’s Chorus in
Maryland.
In addition to the Conservatory
Program, CCM provides an early childhood music program, Crickets(TM),
for children ages four to six. In 2000, CCM also founded a training
program for music educators, the American Kodály Institute (AKI). Music
teachers from all over the country participate in this three-year
certificate program.
Educational Program
 The CCM curriculum, taught by specially
trained and highly qualified music educators, is an adaptation of the
highly acclaimed Kodály approach to music education, modified by Gordon
Music Learning Theory. The conservatory training levels meet on
Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Those levels are: Treble
Choir, made up of Beginner I (ages 5-8) and Beginner II (ages 7-9)
classes; Lyric Choir, made up of Intermediate I (ages 9-10),
Intermediate II (ages 9-11), and Intermediate III (ages 10-13) classes,
and Concert Choir, comprised of Solfa I, II, III, and IV classes(ages
11-16). Children from Intermediate III are required to pass a rigorous
examination for entrance into the Solfa classes and the Concert Choir.
Students who complete the CCM conservatory
program have the equivalent of at least a first year college level of
music education. They are trained in healthy vocal technique,
musicianship, theory, harmony, dictation, rhythm and solfege in major
and minor keys as well as all modes. Some gain experience in
composition. All children in CCM also gain important experience with
self-paced learning, mental concentration, a heightened personal and
social awareness, and flexibility.
Music and Children
 Scientists and educators agree that music,
as the often under-appreciated "seventh science", strengthens many
essential areas of a child’s development, such as physical coordination,
timing, memory, visual, aural, analytical and language skills. In fact,
as psychologist Frances Rauscher of University of California-Irvine
notes, music appears to strengthen the links between brain neurons and
build new spatial reasoning, improving a child’s spatial intelligence.
Studies also show that music dramatically improves the type of
intelligence needed for high-level math and science.
Dr. Frank Wilson, Assistant Neurology
Professor at the University of California School of Medicine, San
Francisco, reports that his research has shown that music connects and
develops the motor systems of the brain in a way that cannot be done by
any other activity. Recent data from UCLA brain scan research studies
show that music more fully involves brain functions (both left and right
hemispheres) than any other activities studied. Dr. Wilson feels these
findings are so significant that it will lead to a universal
understanding in the next century that music is an absolute necessity
for the total development of the brain and the individual. This means
that the business of making high quality music training accessible and
fun for children is one that CCM takes seriously.
As a direct result of Children's Chorus of
Maryland training, the following skill areas are expected to improve:
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Memory & Concentration
Coordination
Reading & writing
Science & Mathematics
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Motor control and speed
Language skills
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Self-confidence
Self-expression
Creative thinking
Teamwork
Self-discipline
Interpersonal relations
Communication
Independent learning
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Funding Sources
 Tuition covers approximately 40% of CCM’s annual
operating budget. Remaining expenses are funded through concert fees,
donations, and fundraising activities conducted by the Board of
Directors and the Parent Association.
Current Significant Donors:
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
The United States Department of Education
The Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation
John Hancock Company
The Baltimore Community Foundation
The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund
Mercantile Bank
Maryland State Arts Council
Baltimore County’s Commission on Arts & Sciences
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