Heritage Choir & Community Sings
Heritage Choir is a community choir that reimagines the rehearsal process, centering personal stories, a mutual exploration of cultural heritage, and exploring how music weaves throughout our lives.
You don’t need to know how to read music or audition to join Heritage Choir, you just have to love to sing and be open to connecting with others through music! It is a welcoming and joyful environment, perfect for those who value the people we sing with as much as the music. This is a great group if you’re looking to sing in Spanish, or hoping to learn more Spanish.
Our Community Sings are an opportunity to learn songs from each other, talk about where the music comes from and what the songs mean, and then sing them together in an informal setting.
Come Sing with Us!
Our next session of Heritage Choir begins on March 28th and runs for six weeks on Thursday nights. We rehearse at University Baptist Church in Dinkytown (Minneapolis).
Questions? Send us an email: natalia@bordercrossingmn.org
Location
University Baptist Church
1219 University Ave SE,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Rehearsals
Thursday, March 27 – 7:00-8:30pm
Thursday, April 3 – 7:00-8:30pm
Thursday, April 10 – 7:00-8:30pm
Thursday, April 17 – 7:00-8:30pm (Potluck)
Thursday, April 24 – 7:00-8:30pm
Thursday, May 1 – 7:00-8:30pm (Dress Rehearsal)
Community Sing Featuring mariachi mi tierra
Saturday, May 3th at 11:00am
This year, our Community Sing will feature Mariachi Mi Tierra for a special Mother’s Day Community Sing. If you’re interested in learning more, sign up here and our director, Natalia Romero Arbeláez will reach out with more information.
Virtual Season
Heritage Choir, led by Natalia Romero Arbeláez, was meant to launch in March of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Natalia pivoted to the digital space, creating a podcast and interview video series that ran in 2020 and 2021. The conversations between Border CrosSing musicians and community members allowed us to learn about the stories that bind us, and how music has shaped our journey.
About Heritage Choir’s Leadership
Natalia Romero Arbeláez
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Originally from Colombia, Natalia is an experienced performer, educator and musician. As an educator, she thrives in the intersection of contemporary music education and culturally relevant teaching. She is passionate about equity and musical citizenship in her classroom and performing practices. Natalia’s strength lies in her ability to connect and engage learners across all settings, although she is particularly fond of working with and learning from teenagers.
Natalia works as the Upper School choir director at the Blake School where she directs three curricular ensembles and two extra-curricular groups. Before that, she taught choir, piano and EL world music at Harding High School in St. Paul.
Natalia is an active performer and vocal coach. As a coach, she has worked with the Guthrie Theater, Ashland Productions, and the Ordway Center for Performing Arts. She can be found singing with the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, and Border CrosSing, where she also directs a bilingual community choir called Heritage Choir.
Natalia holds a Bachelor of Music from Saint Olaf College and a Master of Music Education at the University of Saint Thomas.
Jared Mikach
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Jared Mikach is a Mexican-American collaborative pianist, coach, and educator based in the Twin Cities. He is passionate about exploring identity and culture through music making, particularly through sharing music of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Jared strives to bring a holistic approach to every facet of his art making, creating spaces that foster sustainability in the arts.
Jared has served as pianist, assistant music director, and repetiteur for musical theater and opera productions including Addams Family, Into the Woods, Chicago, Mamma Mia, Little Shop of Horrors, Babes in Toyland, Die Fledermaus, The Consul, The Rape of Lucretia, Proving Up, and Dark Sisters. As an educator, he worked as the music department pianist at North High School for four years, currently serves as an education outreach musician for Border CrosSing, is a Youth Program Music Director at MN Opera, and a core faculty member for the Ordway’s GreenRoom fellowship. He is also a co-host for the MN Opera podcast, crescendo: building the future of the arts.
As a freelance pianist in the Twin Cities, Jared has worked with groups and organizations including St. Olaf College, Hamline University, Border CrosSing, Heritage Choir, South Metro Chorale, Schubert Club, Source Song Festival, OOPS MN, B-Sides Art Song Collective, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, Skylark Opera, Opera Reading Project, AOT, Journey North Opera Company, MN Opera, and The Ordway Center for Performing Arts.
Jared received his B.A. in Music from St. Olaf College and completed a Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano and Coaching at the University of Minnesota.
As a freelance pianist in the Twin Cities, Jared has worked with Calliope Women’s Chorus, BorderCrosSing, Schubert Club, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Mill City Opera, Arbeit Opera Theatre, and Journey North Opera Company. One of Jared’s musical passions is in studying and performing the music of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.
Join Heritage Choir!
Fill out the form below or send us an email: natalia@bordercrossingmn.org
