Welcoming Our New Director of Children’s Music

By Zachary Duell

Today, I’m excited to share with you that, thanks to your generosity in giving and the Search Committee’s efforts, we have hired a Director of Children’s Music!

This is an important step in supporting and encouraging the many musically talented kids in our congregation. Our new Director will be with us in worship this Sunday, and will lead the first Children’s Choir rehearsal of the year that same day, September 22nd at 12:15pm.

We’re lucky to have found an experienced expert in the field of children’s music. I’m so pleased to introduce you to Mrs. Xi Li:

Originally from China, Mrs. Xi Li moved to Corvallis with her family in 2014 and has since become a proud US citizen. Mrs. Li has over 20 years experience in directing children’s choirs, primarily as the Choir Director at Shenzhen Yantian Foreign Language Primary School in Shenzhen, China. Mrs. Li was the first choir director at the school, and developed the program from the ground up, eventually leading her choirs to win gold medals at the World Choir Games in 2010 (think Olympics, but for choirs! This is the largest festival & competition for choirs in the world). Since moving to Corvallis, Mrs. Li has continued to teach her Chinese choir via Zoom. She has also successfully published textbooks on children’s choir training that are in widespread use throughout Chinese-speaking countries.

The Search Committee was impressed not only by Xi’s resume, but by her straightforward, textbook answers to our questions, and her warm, good-natured personality. We believe that she will encourage and challenge the kids at Good Sam, and the kids will benefit greatly from her multicultural, international perspectives. Her expertise in teaching, passion for working with young singers, and her commitment to nurturing children’s love of music will make her a wonderful addition to our community and the staff team at Good Sam.

Thank you again for your support of the Children’s Music Program, and I hope you’ll join me in giving a warm Good Sam welcome to Xi as she joins us this coming Sunday!

In Christ’s Love,
Zachary Duell
Director of Music