T-VOCE
Registration is open for the 2023-24 season of T-VOCE!
Rehearsals begin October 2023.
Teen Voices of the City Ensemble, or T-VOCE (tee VO-chay), is a FREE inclusive choir that welcomes youth from all backgrounds to share their talents and be themselves in a safe and supportive space. Open to anyone ages 13–19, we use choral music to build musicianship and vocal skills, but also as a means of self-expression, to explore issues important to the participants, and to build community. T-VOCE comes from the Italian word "voce," meaning "voice," because this choir empowers and celebrates the voice of Philadelphia youth and their overwhelming talents.
We encourage you to join the choir to share your voice and make friends as well as great music. T-VOCE welcomes everyone and embraces all the talents that you bring to T-VOCE. There are no auditions; all you need is a love of singing! It’s FREE to participate!
Rehearsals will take place Saturdays from 10:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m., October through April at Friend Center (1501 Cherry Street).
Additional FREE Activities
Free group voice lessons will be provided to Philadelphia-area students through T-VOCE’s partnership with ArtSmart.
T-VOCE is a collaboration between AMLA, ArtSmart, Fortress Arts, Opera Philadelphia, and Singing City.
“T-VOCE feels like family to me. Everyone is unique and it is cool to see everyone’s individual traits blend together to create a really unique experience that you really can’t find anywhere and in any other choirs.”
- Ajanie H. (T-VOCE member)
T-VOCE Conductor
Dr. Whitney Covalle is a singer, researcher, and choral music educator. Her research focuses on music education in the city with emphasis on engaging community expertise, the intersection of race and teaching music, and teaching in the aural-oral tradition. Her dissertation research on Philadelphia experts teaching Black Gospel music was recently published in Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (2022). Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Covalle was a choir director in public schools and community music organizations in urban settings for seventeen years, primarily in Chicago at Jones College Prep High School, a Chicago public high school, and Uniting Voices Chicago (Chicago Children’s Choir). Dr. Covalle has degrees from Michigan State University (BME), Westminster Choir College - Choral Emphasis (MME), and Temple University (PhD in Music Education) and the Urban Education Certificate from the College of Education and Human Development.
T-VOCE Accompanist
Jessica Gruver is a Philly-based actor, singer, and accompanist. She has performed with the Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, PIFA/Kimmel Center, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and the Venetian Macao Resort, among others. She holds a BM in Music History and a MM in Voice Performance from Temple University. She also maintains a private voice and piano studio in South Philly. www.JessicaGruver.com
Education Coordinator
Abby Weissman, Opera Philadelphia’s Assistant Manager of Youth and Community Programs, is a director, consent educator, arts administrator (and more!) based in Philadelphia, PA. She is a company member of Revolution Shakespeare, and a proud alumnus of Northwestern University and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program. Most recently, she has spent her time choreographing intimacy for theatres in the region, talking about sex and relationships at colleges across the country with Speak About It, and directing with the Vocal Academy of Opera in Bodrum, Turkey. Abby’s upcoming projects include Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea at Villanova University, Kiss Me Kate at West Chester University and Torch Song at 1812 Productions.
Onsite Coordinator/ Vocal Mentor
Dicky Dutton, T-VOCE Onsite Coordinator/Vocal Mentor. Curiosity in our world's stories lies at the heart of performance artist, Dicky's (they/she) work. Her collaborations with organizations like Aural Compass Projects, Wear Yellow Proudly, Bard College, Cincinnati Opera, and Arizona Opera have highlighted the importance of working toward equity and creative joy in herself and surrounding communities.