The Vivace Youth Chorus of San Jose is a choral program for children from ages four to eighteen. Youth from throughout the Silicon Valley participate in six program levels. The chorus offers a well-rounded program that balances vocal training, music theory, and performances. Upper choir levels take part in choral festivals and tours. Choristers gain exposure to various musical genres, from traditional folk to classical, jazz, and contemporary. The chorus collaborates with area composers and musicians, as well as with other ensembles, including Opera San Jose and San Jose Symphonic Choir. [1] [2]
Music education at Vivace Youth Chorus is guided by the principles of the Kodály Method, which was developed in Hungary during the mid-twentieth century and named after Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967).
Vivace Youth Chorus was founded in 2003 by Artistic Director Peggy Spool.
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education.
Lajos Bárdos was a composer, conductor, music theorist, and professor of music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, in Budapest, Hungary, where he had previously studied under Albert Siklós and Zoltán Kodály. His younger brother, György Deák-Bárdos, was also a composer.
The San Francisco Girls Chorus, established in 1978 by Elizabeth Appling and celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2018-2019 Season, is a leading regional center for music education and performance for young women, ages 4–18, based in San Francisco. Each year, more than 300 singers from 45 Bay Area cities participate in SFGC's programs. The organization consists of a professional-level performance, recording, and touring ensemble and a six-level Chorus School training program. A leading voice on the Bay Area and national music scenes, the Chorus has produced award-winning concerts, recordings, and tours, empowered young women in music and other fields, enhanced and expanded the field of music for treble voices and set the international standard for the highest level of performance and education. The Chorus has been the recipient of 5 GRAMMY Awards, 4 Chorus America/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music, and the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America. SFGC's Chorus School has been described as "a model in the country for training girls' voices" by the California Arts Council.
Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) is a children's choral youth organisation based in Los Angeles. LACC has appeared in more than 300 performances with such organizations as the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male choruses and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement.
Maria Guinand is an internationally renowned choral conductor.
Donald Nally is an American conductor, chorus master, and professor of conducting, specializing in chamber choirs, opera, and new music. He is conductor of the professional new-music choir, The Crossing, based in Philadelphia. He teaches graduate students at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.
Gregory Vajda is a Hungarian clarinetist, composer and conductor.
The Peninsula Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in the San Francisco Peninsula, California. The orchestra consists of over 90 community musicians. In 1995, the Peninsula Symphony was featured in a PBS broadcast.
Jo-Michael Scheibe is the former chair of the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. He serves as Professor of Choral and Sacred Music, teaching choral conducting and choral development. He formerly conducted the USC Chamber Singers. In 2008, he assumed a new post as National President-Elect of the American Choral Directors’ Association. No stranger to the ACDA, Scheibe previously served as the organization’s Western Division President (1991–1993), as well as National Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for Community Colleges (1980–1989). Ensembles under his leadership have sung at six national ACDA conventions, as well as two national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference, and various regional and state conventions.
Arpad Darazs was a Hungarian-American music educator who was widely known as one of the few in the Western hemisphere as an authority on the Kodály method of choral instruction.
Ana María Raga is a Venezuelan musician, choir and orchestra director, pianist, arranger, composer and teacher. She has won national and international prizes in the field of choral singing. She is the founder and president of the Aequalis Foundation.
The Peninsula Women's Chorus is a women's choir based at Palo Alto, California.
Golden Gate Men's Chorus (GGMC) is a gay men's chorus founded in 1982 and located in San Francisco. The GGMC is a group of 50 ethnically and socially diverse gay and gay-supportive men, and is dedicated to giving voice to the gay community through song. The GGMC presents spring, summer, and winter programs annually, in addition to numerous guest and community benefit performances throughout the year.
The Choral Arts Society of Washington is a major choral organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1965 by Norman Scribner, it is regarded as one of the premier symphonic choruses in the United States. The Choral Arts Society of Washington consists of three vocal ensembles; the Choral Arts Chorus, the Choral Arts Chamber Singers, and the Choral Arts Youth Choir.
In 1983, Marguerite McCormick founded the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio to develop the artistic and personal potential of young people across the city. Today, more than 450 young musicians ages 5–18 gather every week to learn choral music and singing in a healthy, diverse, and inclusive environment. The organization runs eight core ensembles, one of which is in special collaboration with the Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as an extensive early-childhood music and movement program for babies and toddlers called Music Together. Through their specially crafted programming, CCSA continues to cultivate the arts and culture in San Antonio, while transforming the lives of young people through the power of music and friendship.
Dr. Kathleen Alison McGuire is a choral and orchestral conductor, arranger, composer, music educator, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Known also for her work with social justice and human rights organizations, from 2000 to 2010 she served as the first female artistic director and conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus – the world's first openly gay choral organization – and in 2010 she established Singers of the Street: a choir of people affected by homelessness in San Francisco. She became a US citizen in 2011 and in 2013 returned to Australia to serve as director of music at Queen's College and co-artistic director of the School of Hard Knocks. In 2006 she was a grand marshal in the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Her contributions have officially been recognized by the California Senate and State Assembly, and "Kathleen McGuire Day" was designated twice in her honor by San Francisco mayors Gavin Newsom and Edwin Lee.
Boston Children's Chorus (BCC) is composed of over 500 singers from 13 choirs in over five locations around Boston. Its mission is to address the social problems of Boston's children and communities. Founded in 2003, BCC has performed all over the world in countries such as Japan, Mexico, Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Jordan, the Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. In addition, BCC has received critical acclaim for its music and hosts Boston's Martin Luther King Jr. annual celebration at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. This concert has featured guests such as Lou Gossett Jr, Patti Austin, Melinda Doolittle, Cindy Blackman Santana, Leslie Odom Jr., Dom Flemons and Roomful of Teeth and has been televised nationally. BCC's believes in the transformative power of music as a tool for social bridging. Its program focuses on providing children with a comprehensive music education and strong diverse youth leadership.
Brighton Festival Chorus is a large choir of over 150 amateur singers based in Brighton, UK. One of the country's leading symphony choruses.., and considered "one of the jewels in the city's musical crown", BFC performs in major concert halls throughout Britain and Europe, particularly in Brighton and London.
László Istvan Heltay was a Hungarian-born British conductor and choral director. Heltay is best known for contributing to the establishment of the Brighton Festival Chorus, the Chorus of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Schola Cantorum of Oxford. He was described as: