SVCC History

Now celebrating its 34th year, Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir includes more than 170 children of diverse backgrounds ages 5-18 in four auditioned choirs and two music classes with a staff of thirteen under the artistic and executive direction of Dr. Janet M. Hostetter. 

Regular Monday evening rehearsals include instruction in solfege-based sight singing, ear training, and music theory; vocal technique; and performance practice. Prelude Choir (ages 7-10) and Intermezzo Choirs (ages 9-11) meet jointly under the direction of Dr. Hostetter with assistants Joy Anderson and Heidi King before rehearsing as two individual choirs - Prelude Choir directed by Anderson and Intermezzo Choir directed by Heidi King. Altogether, Prelude and Intermezzo choristers rehearse weekly for 90 minutes during SVCC's calendar year. 

The advanced Concert Choir meets for 120 minutes each week under the direction of Hostetter and Anderson, with assistants Heidi King and Jared Stutzman. Concert Choir rehearses in two distinct groups – Mixed Voices (SATB) led by Anderson and Treble Voices (SSA) led by Hostetter – before rehearsing all singers together. Six qualified music instructors provide graded musicianship training for choristers of all skill levels.  SVCC's head choristers support less experienced members with individualized guidance and encouragement.

SVCC's Music Explorers classes for children ages 5-7 are taught by Karen Reichard and Jessica Strawderman with instruction based on the Kodály approach to music education. This 20-week non-performing program develops music reading and listening skills and teaches music fundamentals through singing, movement, games, improvisation, instruments and story books.

Committed to community outreach, SVCC organizes choral workshops in local school systems, sings in churches and retirement facilities, and offers a non-auditioned spring choir experience for children who love to sing.

The beauty and reputation of SVCC have afforded Concert Choir the honor of performing for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, then-President Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former President Jimmy Carter. Performing choirs frequently collaborate with professional musicians and have presented at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association ('00, '02, '06, '12, ‘18, ‘22), Virginia Music Educators Association ('96, '98, '04, '08), and Organization of American Kodály Educators ('01, '09), and have performed with the American Boychoir (’94, ’01, ’03, ’07, ’10, ’17).

Enriching the regular concert season are the Concert Choir’s many collaborative and touring opportunities. On March 7, 2026, Concert Choir will perform at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Region Division Conference in Memphis, Tennessee—one of only sixteen choirs chosen by blind audition from more than one hundred applicants. In the summer of 2025, thirty-nine choristers traveled to Puerto Rico to collaborate with the highly acclaimed Coro de Niños de San Juan. Two years earlier, sixty-four members participated in Voices United: An International Youth Choral Concert at Carnegie Hall, where SVCC performed both independently and in partnership with three distinguished children’s choirs for the premiere of Missa Virtutum (Mass of Virtues) by Jude B. Roldan, under the direction of Dr. Janet M. Hostetter.

In previous seasons, Concert Choir singers have joined elite children’s choirs in the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia, for the Virginia Choral Fest; the Sing A Mile High Children’s Choral Festival in Denver, Colorado; the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Pacific Rim Children’s Choral Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Tuscany Children’s Choir Festival in Florence, Italy; and in an international collaboration in Cusco, Peru.

Under the leadership of Dr. Janet M. Hostetter, SVCC choristers have participated in a range of distinguished music video projects that showcase the choir’s artistry and spirit. These include Harry Belafonte’s “Turn the World Around”, filmed on a beach in Puerto Rico, and Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run”, featuring choristers along the Hudson River in New York City. Other notable productions include a signature performance of “Shenandoah” recorded in Shenandoah National Park; a collaborative video with the Cusco-based children’s choir Los K’ana Wawakuna in Peru; Hostetter’s arrangement of “America the Beautiful” filmed atop Pikes Peak; and “Shapes of Home”, a newly commissioned piece commemorating SVCC’s 30th anniversary and filmed locally in the Shenandoah Valley.

Artistic and executive director Dr. Janet M. Hostetter has led the organization since 2014, and assistant director Joy Anderson has worked with the choir since 2002. Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy served as interim director from 2012-2014. The Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir was founded in 1991 at Eastern Mennonite University by Julia J. White.