HISTORY
over four decades of innovative music, cultural engagement, and empowering young voices
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.
Sing With Us!
The Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir attracts singers of all genders ages 5-18 from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and over 100 schools in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Solano counties.
We Offer:
Individual Voice Lessons
Community Building Music Games
Exploring Musicianship
PEBCC is committed to equitable and inclusive access to all of our programming and continuously seeks out funding support to ensure that EVERY child can participate regardless of a family’s current financial circumstances. We work with our families to provide financial assistance and payment plans to make sure all young people can participate. Please contact us for more information and any questions.
JUMP TO:
KINDER
KINDER DEPARTMENT
For Kindergarten students, Kinder Choirs offer a child's first exposure to choral music in a friendly, nurturing and playful environment!
Young children benefit from music training in many ways. It is never too early to provide opportunities for children to explore their own creativity! Music training can assist a child in developing language and analytical skills. Our teaching methods are closely linked to the developmental stages of the growing mind, and a choir is the perfect opportunity to learn to navigate a social group in a shared activity with a common goal.
KinderChoir (ages 5-6). Each class meets weekly for fifty minutes. KinderChoir sections are limited to 12 students. Each class offers a Family & Friends Recital at the end of each semester. Classes tend to fill up quickly, so please fill our the interest form to start the process for class placement.
TRAINING DEPARTMENT
For Grades 1 and up, the Training Department introduces intermediate music skills including sight reading, ear training, breath control, vowel formation, diction, music theory, and beginning stage presence. Training 1 choirs do not have a vocal placement. All of the other training department choirs have a simple assessment to place entry level singers in the right choir for their voice maturity. Non-binary singers self select into Boys or Girls ensembles based upon their gender identity.
We place singers into appropriate choirs based on grade and ability. A typical rehearsal includes vocal warm-ups with emphasis on vocal pedagogy, group repertoire, music theory, vocal games and choreography.
All Training Department choirs participate in 2 performances per semester, in the Fall Training Department Recitals in early December, the Winter Concert in late January, the Spring Training Department Recitals in May, and the Spring Sing! at the end of May or beginning of June. There are one or two additional orchestral collaborations or workshop opportunities for individual groups throughout the season.
Training Department singers are encouraged to attend Camp Joyful Voices, which is held for one week in late July or early August each summer. Singers entering Girls Training 4 and Boys Training 2 should plan to enroll in preparation for future transitions into Concert Choir, where a two week camp experience is required. We've made an art out of introducing youngsters to the joys of sleep-away music camp, and know just how to keep homesickness at bay - sing, make friends, and have fun!
Performing Department
For Grades 5 and Up, the Performing Department challenges the student further through advanced music theory, ear training, and sight singing, along with foreign language diction, healthy vocal technique, resonance, breathing, vowel formation, performance, and storytelling.
The four Performing Department choirs - Concert Choir, Ensemble, Ecco, and Ancora - represent the pinnacle of children’s choral training and performance. Singers in these groups have studied music for several years, and are admitted following a vocal placement. In Performing Department Choirs, promising young singers reach new heights of personal expression; their relationship with music deepens and gains new subtlety. Singers begin to form their own musical personalities and identities, and they make deep, lifelong bonds with like-minded friends. They become proud ambassadors of the Choir and the East Bay through local performances, professional collaborations, and on tour at international competitions and festivals.
All Performing Department choirs perform in the Candlelight Concert in December, the Winter Concert in late January, the Making History Concert mid-spring, and Spring Sing! in late spring. Additional opportunities including Jazz and Beyond, Ancora Recital, Tour Bon Voyage Concerts, collaborations and workshops, and/or working with a living composer on a new work are often undertaken by individual choirs throughout the season.
Tours
International touring and competition has been a centerpiece of the PEBCC programs since 1984. We believe choir tours provide unparalleled opportunities for young people to learn about themselves and broaden and deepen their understanding of the world. Since its founding, PEBCC ensembles have toured and performed throughout 13 states and 26 foreign countries, participating in nineteen choral competitions in Europe, Asia, and North America and bringing home twenty-five awards, including Gold Medals and Grand Prizes. Tour destinations are selected primarily on the basis of their potential for providing enriching musical experiences and secondarily for their cultural and geographical interest. While on tour, singers may participate in music festivals, community concerts, and cultural and recreational activities, and have been selected to perform for the most discerning audiences.