San Diego Children's Choir

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The San Diego Children's Choir is a choral organization consisting of 300 boys and girls from the San Diego, California area who are of ages six to eighteen and from a variety of racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. It was founded by Polly Campbell and was incorporated as a non-profit public benefit corporation in 1990. Rehearsals and performances of fine music literature form the foundation of instruction and provide the youth of San Diego opportunities for artistic and personal growth through choral music performance.

The choir currently rehearses in four locations to provide choral opportunities to youth in major areas of San Diego County: North County, the central San Diego area, downtown, and southeast San Diego. Each branch is structured to contain multiple choir levels (preparatory, intermediate, concert), and as choristers advance, they leave their individual branch and join the Youth Choir.

1 Structure
2 Performances
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Structure

Preparatory Choir - for very young choristers who are usually 6 or 7 years old (1st and 2nd graders). This level introduces music to the child and focuses on in-tune singing skills and building basic rhythmic skills. Except for our two major Concerts, this Choir will perform independently from the older choirs.

Intermediate Choir - for choristers who have completed Preparatory Choir training. Choristers in this choir are usually 8 to 10 years old (grades 3 to 5). The Intermediate Choir participates in local performances and tour locally, normally within Southern California.

Concert Choir - for choristers with more developed voices who are usually 11 to 14 years old (middle school grades 6 to 9). It is at this age that choristers begin touring nationally and internationally.

Youth Choir - for advanced singers, normally consisting of high school choristers. Girls progress to the Youth Choir when they enter the tenth grade. Boys progress to the Youth Choir also in the tenth grade unless their voice changes earlier.

[edit] Performances

The San Diego Children's Choir schedules two major concerts each year at which all choristers perform – the Holiday Concert during the Christmas Season and the Spring Concert. During the year, they perform at other venues suitable for each choir level. The younger choristers perform many outreach programs at libraries^[1] and senior citizen homes.

As a member of the San Diego Performing Arts League^[2], they participate yearly in the organization's "Bravo San Diego" event along with the other major art organizations in San Diego. They are constantly featured on the NBC San Diego News^[3]. Each Spring, they perform for the public at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion ^[4] in Balboa Park.

The Choir has collaborated over the years with other performing groups. They regularly participate in Holiday Concerts^[5] with the San Diego Symphony. In 1996, they performed the world premiere of "Requiem in Memoriam, Oklahoma City" under the direction of the composer, Ron Gillis. The San Diego Children Choir has performed Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" twice: once under the direction of Sir David Willcocks in Royal Albert Hall, London, and again under the direction of Maestro Yoav Talmi with the San Diego Symphony.

Tours are also part of the educational program, providing an opportunity to be ambassadors for San Diego as well as travel and performance experience. The Concert and Youth Choirs travel every summer during June and July, and they follow the tradition of international tours every other year. Tours normally include 6 to 7 concerts, home stays with host choir organizations, and daily tours of the visited countries. The Intermediate Choir tours locally in Southern California in preparation for the longer tours when the choristers advance to the Concert Choir.