ABOUT
The Young Singers of Flint Hall are made up of many unique and special elements—from the music to the people, the supporters to the location—all of which make it an incredible experience.
The CHOIR
Dedicated to excellence, the Young Singers of Flint Hall Choir Program has a multifaceted purpose. Membership offers professional-level instruction in vocal technique, music theory, sight singing, ear training, and presentation as well as exposure to a variety of choral styles. Involvement also enhances young people’s lives, helping them to develop qualities of self-reliance, personal integrity, responsibility, compassion, and confidence in their abilities.
Think back on all of the wonderful moments of your childhood that make a deep impression. Remember the teachers who shaped your life and the friends who surrounded you and made up a cherished part of your early memories. What if you could find an organization in which your children could build lifelong relationships, instill a sense of joy, and help prepare them for a journey of success and confidence?
After forty-two years of teaching, with thirty years teaching youth choirs, Dr. Shaw has seen the best of these organizations do this do this for generations of singers and families. We are building a choir what will be what many describe as a family of like-hearted people who expect the best of themselves and seek to return good to the world, one beautiful song at a time.
We offer training in beautiful vocal production, sight reading, and meaningful expression of text. We explore other languages through the pieces we learn. We don’t just teach them to sing well; we educate the whole musician. Come and be a part of this exciting adventure as we inspire and enrich the landscape of our community.
Rehearsals are held weekly at Flint Hall (in the Falany Center for Performing Arts on the Reinhardt University Campus, Waleska, GA) on Thursday evenings, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm from August through April.
The Young Singers Of Flint Hall is a registered nonprofit organization in the state of Georgia.
Our ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Martha Shaw is Professor of Music and the Director of Choral Activities at Reinhardt University. A specialist in vocal pedagogy for all ages, she is active as a clinician and as a guest conductor throughout the United States. Her fifteen years of experience as a public school music specialist and twenty-eight years at the collegiate level contribute significantly to her work at Reinhardt, where she teaches conducting, choral literature, and music methods classes as well as conducts the Chamber Singers.
Dr. Shaw is the founding director of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir. Under her direction, the choir has been featured in performances for state, regional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, for the national conference of the Orff-Schulwerk Association and for the 2010 national conference of Chorus America. The choir has also been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and From the Top.
Previously, Dr. Shaw served on the faculty of Shorter University. She also taught at the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting with Larry Wyatt. Studying with Donald Neuen, she earned a Master of Science in Music Education from the University of Tennessee. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Shorter College.
Our LOCATION
REINHARDT UNIVERSITY
We are forever grateful to our incredible friends at Reinhardt University, located in beautiful Waleska, Georgia, for allowing us the use of a rehearsal space in Falany Performing Arts Center, as well as the ability to perform in the same building’s Flint Hall.
The main attraction of this concert hall is its state-of-the-art acoustic and tunable stage. Known as one of the best concert halls in the Southeast, musicians, theatre groups, and guest speakers have enjoyed the quality sound the concert hall provides.
Flint Hall also boasts a custom pipe organ, built by R.A. Colby, Inc., one of the leading organ builders in the United States, as a new addition in 2022. This hybrid instrument adds so much character and depth to performances by The Young Singers Of Flint Hall, and we are most grateful to have access to this beautiful performance space.
Our GRATITUDE
Flint Hall is a concert hall named not only for the family who bestowed the generous contributions to Reinhardt University for the hall and its custom pipe organ, but also the generous benefactors behind The Young Singers Of Flint Hall.
Dr. Austin & Bea Flint have been staples in the communities of Waleska and Canton, Georgia for decades and are pleased to be able to provide support to such a worthwhile program.
Dr. Flint is one of Reinhardt University's most engaged and benevolent members of the Board of Trustees, and Bea Flint was a professor at Reinhardt for many years. When asked about her time there, she recalled her favorite thing to be, “it was a family.” This transformational gift will allow future generations, like those who are a part of The Young Singers Of Flint Hall, to experience the same welcoming spirit of Reinhardt the Flints have.
What People Are Saying
Jeff & Alicia Stark
“Our three sons have been singing with Dr. Shaw for more than a decade. It’s not easy to put into words the profound impact she has had on their lives. In addition to teaching them to be excellent musicians and singers, she has encouraged them to be persons of exemplary character and to strive to be the best they can be in every area of their lives. If your child has the opportunity to spend any amount of time under Martha Shaw’s teaching, it will most definitely change their life for the better!”
Joynita Etheridge
“Being a part of a children's choir during some of the most crucial developmental years impacted who I am as a person today. Beyond learning about, experiencing and creating beautiful music, I learned difficult life lessons that changed my life. I am a better, more well rounded person because of my time being a part of a children's choir. It far surpasses the notes on the pages or melodies and harmonies that intrigue the ear to captivate the hearts of young people, challenging and shaping them to become the best versions of themselves they can possibly be.”
Kim Delbridge
“Having sung with Dr. Shaw for ten years myself from the ages of nine to eighteen, I know firsthand how pivotal children’s choir education is in a child’s life; I would not be the person I am today without Dr. Shaw’s incredible leadership and love in my life. As a member of her choir, you develop the skills of leadership, teamwork, discipline, and responsibility as well as self-confidence, empathy, and strong character. Dr. Shaw joyfully creates the most beautiful music all while shaping the most incredible children. Being a member of a children’s choir is truly one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me, and I am overjoyed for my daughter Lyla to be a member of the Young Singers of Flint Hall.