'Heavy Hearts':SOMa Youth Choir Shuts Down

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - SOMa Youth Choir is shutting down for the foreseeable future, according to founders Erin Holmes and Viraj Lal.

Holmes and Lal sent the following letter of explanation:

"Dear SOMa Youth Choir Choristers, Families, and Friends,

We hope that this letter finds you all very well, and you are having a fun and relaxing summer.
Nearly three years ago, we had a vision to bring a high-quality children’s choral music education program to the SOMa community, ideally, as an extension of the amazing music programs our local schools already offer. That vision quickly became a reality, in large part, because of your tremendous support, as you shared in our vision to bring such an organization to our already vibrant arts community.

We hit the ground running- from our first Open Sing in September 2017 to our debut performance at the SouthNEXT Festival, to singing a New Year’s Day Inauguration at Maplewood Town Hall and to our many lovely Winter and Spring Concerts and more, it has been a labor of love for us, and we are beyond proud of the SOMa Youth Choir’s accomplishments, as well as the choristers’ hard work and dedication.

However, declining enrollment and staff unavailability is contributing to our difficulty to maintain this commitment moving forward. Therefore, after thoughtful consideration, it is with heavy hearts that we must tell you that the SOMa Youth Choir will be closing its doors for the foreseeable future.
It has been an absolute honor and privilege for us- both personally and professionally- to work and sing with your children. Everyone’s interest and involvement in, as well as chorister and family commitment to SYC, including the support of Father Jim and St. Joe’s Church, has been an integral part of our success.

We fully acknowledge that we could not have done any of it without you, and we are forever thankful. Our hope is that your children will maintain their love for choral music for the rest of their lives, and we are so grateful to have been a small part of their musical journey.

We still want to support all choristers’ choral endeavors, so should your child wish to continue their community choir involvement outside of school, we strongly recommend the New Jersey Youth Chorus in New Providence or Continuo Arts in Summit, both of which are closeby to SOMa. Our colleagues at those organizations are fine music educators, and we’d be happy to write a recommendation letter on your child’s behalf.

We wish you the best of luck in the upcoming school year and beyond! We will miss you, and we hope to see you around town! Thanks, once more, from the bottom of our hearts.

Sincerely and musically yours,
Erin Holmes and Viraj Lal"

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