HISTORY

The Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir was established in 1982 when, at the request of community leader Susan Rahl, the twenty-two founding members of the “Piedmont Boys Choir” first gathered under the direction of founding Artistic Director Robert Geary.

The Choir’s founding principles were to teach the fundamentals and art of music and perform to the highest standard possible in a creative and supportive environment. The Choirs have always maintained these core principles, while championing new music for youth choirs and increasingly focusing on social justice and global citizenship.

The organization quickly grew to include young women, followed by high school singers, becoming the “Piedmont Boys and Girls Choirs.” 1983 saw the addition of summer choir camp and annual performing tours became part of the experience in 1984. In 1991, PEBCC founded the Golden Gate International Children's Choral Festival, the first international competitive choral festival for children’s and youth choirs held in the US. These all remain beloved core components of our programming today.

Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir currently runs twelve choir levels in developmentally and musically sequenced, comprehensive K-12 programming and has expanded to serve three elementary schools in Alameda and Oakland. The original group of twenty-two singers now numbers 340 strong, coming from 100 schools, 23 communities, and 35 zip codes.

The California Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts have supported PEBCC, in recognition of high artistic quality and leadership within the youth choral community. The choirs have performed under the direction of leading international artists including Krysztov Penderecki, Michael Morgan, Esa Pekka Salonen, and Michael Tilson Thomas, and have appeared with Joyce diDonato, John Denver and the Barenaked Ladies.

Locally, the choirs collaborate with leading arts organizations including the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Ballet, Berkeley Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Choral Society, Volti, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Festival Opera.

Internationally, the Choirs have won many gold medals, grand prizes, and special prizes in competition. Our ensembles have toured to 26 countries and 19 international festivals. The Golden Gate International Choral Festival has brought young musicians from 17 US states, 30 countries, and 6 continents to share their music, dance, costumes, traditions and customs across the Bay Area’s diverse communities.

Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir's most lasting impacts are the change-making young people who have emerged from our program. Some of these graduates have gone on to successful careers as musicians. Others serve our communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers, DJ’s, parents, and advocates. All became civic minded global citizens, creating harmony in their communities.

Tens of thousands of students, families and audience members have found their way to music through Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir programs and performances since that first living room rehearsal. Our graduates continue to champion our mission and enrich our communities as performers, music teachers, arts administrators and lifelong supporters of the arts.