DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710080126

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THUMBS UP! 

SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   83 lines

CONDUCTING CHILDREN'S CHORUS FITS SNUGLY IN TEACHER'S BUSY SCHEDULE

HOW BUSY IS Karen L. Glosser?

She's so busy it takes three calendars for her schedule.

For nine years, Glosser, 33, has been the choral music teacher at Great Bridge Middle School. She is also the minister of music at Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, and recently, she became the conductor of the Virginia Wesleyan Children's Chorus.

Last summer, Glosser printed a calendar highlighting rehearsal times and choral and festival events for each of the jobs. She also included family activities for time with her husband, Jay, who is a science teacher at Great Bridge High School, and for her children, Benjamin, 2, and Caitlin, 6. When she merged the calendars, there were not many blank dates.

``Organization is one of my better qualities,'' Glosser said. ``Otherwise I would probably go nuts. Although, sometimes it's like a tag team to get things done, we still find time to enjoy swimming or to gather around the piano just for fun.''

On the run to rehearsals, Glosser enjoys popular music on the radio. At home, she likes Gershwin tunes in sing-a-longs with family and friends.

``And we listen to lots of Disney CDs,'' she said.

Glosser grew up near Buffalo, N.Y., where music was always a part of her home and church life. She played the trombone in the school band and the piano at church. She majored in music and voice at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

``But my own performance was never my goal,'' Glosser said. ``I always wanted to teach others and to share the enjoyment of all kinds of music from show tunes to classical and sacred music.''

Now, each day she teaches classes of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders how to read music, enunciate, properly breathe and to perform as a group.

``Learning music is like learning a foreign language,'' she said. ``We start with the very basics and each year add more skills. And when we perform in concert, we reap the benefits of our hard work.''

Glosser said her students often clamor for top-rock requests at the beginning of the school year, but within several months they ask for favorites like ``Laudate Pueri Dominum.''

``It's also great to watch as some children who have little self-esteem or who have not participated in other activities develop self-confidence and enjoy being a part of something special,'' Glosser said.

Several years ago at the Chesapeake Choral Festival, the judges stood and applauded after a presentation of John Rutter's ``Dancing Day'' performed by her eighth- and ninth-grade girls.

``It was an incredible moment and an almost unheard of tribute by judges,'' Glosser said. ``One of the judges later even mailed me a CD by the Toronto Children's Chorus performing the same work.''

Glosser has helped coordinate auditions and events for All-City and All-District. She has also been the guest conductor for the District IV Women's Chorus and the Norfolk All-City Chorus.

In 1994, she auditioned and became a member of the then-McCullough Chorale, which was the only paid choral group in the state.

This year, she is the chairperson of the Chesapeake Choral Festival, scheduled for March.

Last spring, Glosser became the minister of music at the Second Presbyterian Church where she works with children and conducts an adult choir.

``Our purpose is to enhance worship by offering a variety of sacred music,'' Glosser said.

In August, Glosser was selected to be the conductor of the Virginia Wesleyan Children's Chorus and the Young Women of Wesleyan choir at The Center for Sacred Music located on the college campus. She leads the three choirs, which are different age groups and meet at separate times, in a comprehensive program that includes productions, music literacy and ensemble masterpieces.

Glosser said that because members have more experience and must audition, the groups undertake more difficult selections.

Now, Glosser is busy with all her choirs as they prepare for festival or winter holiday presentations. And January provides just enough time to regroup before starting on spring cantatas and concerts. MEMO: For more information about the Virginia Wesleyan Chorus, contact

Sandra Billy at 455-3376. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY

Karen Glosser juggles her new duties as conductor of the Virginia

Wesleyan Children's Chorus with her jobs as mother, choral music

teacher at Great Bridge Middle School and minister of music at

Second Presbyterian Church.

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