Lancaster Fairfield Youth Choir
About LFYC
Lancaster Fairfield Youth Choir was established during the summer of 1992 with the purpose of providing treble boys and girls a high-quality, performance-based music education, regardless of previous musical experience. It was founded when the choral director at Lancaster High School, Ms. Terri Leisten, and junior high choir director, Ms. Catherine Brown, held auditions and hosted a 2-week summer camp culminating in a performance at the Lancaster Festival. LFYC remained a summer-only program until 1995 when it became a year-round singing opportunity for young singers.
Director Lisa Springer joined the group as Brown’s assistant and director of vocal development, and ProArteOHIO adopted LFYC as its chief educational outreach ensemble to support it financially and provide opportunities for boys and girls to perform with the professional musicians of ProArteOHIO. In 2000, Mrs. Springer assumed the role of LFYC director. When she stepped down, she was followed by Mr. Clarence McCoy, the late Mr. Andrew Brown, Mrs. Marcy Layne, and Mrs. Kylie Ogg. In November of 2023, Mrs. Kathy Smith, an educator with excellent training and years of successful teaching and conducting, accepted the directorship.
This youth choral program aims to empower members with a life-long appreciation of quality choral music while developing friendships, music literacy, and promoting a positive presence of vocal music in Fairfield County and beyond.
Schedule
Tuesday, December 17 6:15pm
Community Concert for the residents of Reflections
2750 W. Fair Ave, Lancaster OH
Tuesday, January 7 5:30pm
Auditions
Details and sign-up here
Tuesday, March 11 6:15pm
Community Concert
Location TBD
Saturday, April 12 3:00pm
Spring Concert “Jubilate!”
First Presbyterian Church, 222 S. Broad St. Lancaster
Saturday, May 10
All Day Competition - Kings Island
Sunday, June 17
3:00 Concert - “Ladies and Gentlemen….The Beatles!”
We are special guests of the Lancaster Community Chorus
Crossroads Ministry Center, 2095 W Fair Ave, Lancaster
Enrichment
A major facet of the LFYC Mission is to not only enrich young people musically. This is done through three pillars that are paramount to the enrichment/educational plans for each and every LFYC rehearsal and event. Those are Empowerment, Friendship, Performance.
Empowerment: They are given the opportunity to show their maturity and accountability by learning advanced music in a timely fashion. Skillsets acquired during rehearsals translate well to other team/group activities, and eventually the workplace. Messages from songs are discussed openly so that singers are growing emotionally as well.
Friendship: Singers learn to find common ground and purpose with singers from different schools, backgrounds, ethnicities, and faiths to achieve musical excellence, and in the process, learn to connect with people whose experiences differ from their own. Trips to theme parks, competitions, and local outings also allow our singers to further bond and develop friendships that will last a lifetime.
Performance: Fundamentals of music literacy learned in school programs are reinforced and expanded upon in our concert preparations. This is done in a variety of ways including Kodàly Methodology, ear training, and foreign language study. Singers learn to comport themselves professionally and are given opportunities to showcase individual talents.
Contact
About the Director
Kathy Smith earned her B.S. and M. Ed. degrees in Music Education from Capital University and also holds an M. Ed. in Reading from the University of Dayton. She has furthered her training at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary.
Kathy is a passionate music educator who is currently serving as an elementary music specialist with the Lancaster City Schools. Throughout her career, she has taught for the Diocese of Columbus at Hilliard St. Brendan and Lancaster St. Mary Schools, and at Lakewood Local Schools. She has experience with band, choral, and general music. She also has served as parish music director and choir director for St. Mark Church in Lancaster.
Music is an integral part of Kathy’s life. In addition to teaching, she sings with the Lancaster Community Chorus, is a member of the Standing Stone Strings and Things Dulcimer Club, and performs as a solo artist and workshop leader on hammered and mountain dulcimers.
Kathy resides in Lancaster with her husband Jim. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.
Kathy Smith was appointed director of the Lancaster-Fairfield Youth Choir in November, 2023. Please email lfycdir@gmail.com if you know a child who is interested in auditioning for the choir.