As young people trickle into practice for the Carillon Chamber Choir, director Jim Peterson hands out music for the 2017 summer session: Nine pieces in five different languages, including an Italian madrigal, a French love song, a Broadway piece, a Haitian folk song and a 14-minute “Te Deum” by Haydn that’s often performed with a 70-member choir.

The Carillon Choir currently has 12.

But over the last three years, they’ve developed a big sound.

A former award-winning choir director at Lake Washington High School, Peterson formed the Carillon Chamber Choir in Kirkland three years ago. They’ve performed excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah” and Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with a chamber orchestra. They’ve sung in several languages, including Russian, Tamil (for an Indian Bollywood number) and Haitian Creole.

The group’s upcoming Christmas concert will feature Swedish and German.

They’ve added depth and heartfelt feeling to well-known Broadway pieces and pop songs. They’ve mastered music from four different centuries, ranging from Italian Renaissance madrigals to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“We want people to know this group is there for them to take their great high school training and beyond and expand their education,” said Peterson. He wants to provide opportunities for high school students who’d like to try a smaller choir, band students, graduates who work full time or college students who don’t have choir at school.

One of these students was Redmond High School graduate Daniel Oliver.

“The choir offered me an opportunity to sing that I didn’t have at school due to already being in band and also being in Running Start,” he said. “It was going to be too costly for me to attend choir at the school per quarter.”

He continues to sing with the choir while studying jazz piano at the University of Washington.

Even Peterson is amazed at the growth he’s seen in his choir members, such as a shy young woman who joined last spring.

“She wasn’t a brilliant sight reader, but she had a good ear,” he said. “If she didn’t know all the notes one day, she knew them at the next rehearsal and her voice kept improving. By the end of the session she not only tried out for a solo, she got one. This is the kind of transformation we see in this group.”

One reason for this transformation is the friendly, non-judgmental atmosphere.

“The people are very supportive,” Peterson explained. “People are not afraid to sing by themselves in front of each other because we allow for this kind of risk taking to happen. It’s a real family feel, not competitive, though we sing at a competitive level.”

Choir member Olivia Heale, who attended Lake Washington High School, loved this atmosphere.

“The choir has always been such a community despite the diverse age groups represented,” she said. “We were all friends.”

The Carillon Chamber Choir continues to grow both in experience and popularity. Last year they performed at the Leavenworth Christmas tree lighting ceremony, in front of 15,000 people, and will return this year. But success comes from more than big concerts.

“I love choir because there’s nothing more beautiful than the sound of the human voice raised in song,” said Peterson. “Singing with other people creates a mental connection akin to that which we seek from God. It’s something everyone should do. We cannot ignore the soul.”

For this reason, Peterson wants to reach out to even more young singers.

“If you love to sing, if you can sight read and if you sing in tune, come join us,” he said. “I’ll turn you into a choral artist.”

The Carillon Chamber Choir welcomes high school and college-age singers, as well as adult singers who act as mentors. Practice is held each Tuesday night at the Kirkland Academy of Music and Performance at 12015 124th Ave. N.E., and projects last 10-14 weeks. For more information, contact jim@kirklandmusicacademy.com.

Director Jim Peterson formed the Carillon Chamber Choir to provide opportunities for young adults including high school students, band students, graduates who work full time and college students who don’t have choir at school. Courtesy of Loralee Leavitt