My daughter started singing with SDCC in 2011 and my son began in 2015. I have loved watching them develop their voices, stage presence and overall confidence as a result of their time with SDCC. They have been everywhere with the choir - performing all over San Diego County and beyond! This has been one of the defining activities of their childhood, and I highly recommend this for all children.
San Diego Children’s Choir is amazing! My daughter has learned a lot about voice and musicality while finding a great group of friends and similarly situated children who love to sing. The instructors are amazing and my daughter’s confidence, self esteem and singing ability have all grown exponentially. We feel part of a warm and loving community that can share the gift of song with others.
My son started with San Diego Children's Choir two years ago in the younger years (for two seasons) and is now in the Preparatory choir and it is so wonderful to see his growth through this program! Abby Greathouse (the choir director) has so much enthusiasm and is so great with the kids and we cannot wait for his first performance this season!
San Diego Children’s Choir (SDCC) is exceptional and has provided a quality experience for my daughter. In addition to engaging and fun performance experiences for the kids, SDCC provides musical education that is typically not provided through school programs. Our family very much recommends SDCC for any child who likes to sing!
My daughter is enjoying her experience this semester with San Diego Children’s Choir (SDCC). She joined the SDCC Youth Chorale for the Fall semester and she continues to learn and growing as a chorister. We have been happy with the experience and are looking forward to the winter concert.
The San Diego Children's Choir has been an incredible part of our family's life for over seven years. Our son has participated in the choir for seven plus years and our daughter began her fourth year this fall. Attending their various concerts always fills us with immense joy and pride. All of the staff at SDCC are extremely professional, very talented, and amazing with kids. In particular, Mrs. Orem's passion and dedication have left a lasting impact on our children, fostering a love for music and instilling important life skills that they will have forever. We are very grateful for the choir's exceptional leadership and will continue to cherish our children’s time with this amazing organization.
The goodness of this program has been with my children since they were wee ones. When the hardship of this year hit, this mama counted her blessings with music and loving care to bolster her kids’ spirits. Thank you, SDCC!
My daughter has been a chorister with the San Diego Children's Choir for the past 5 years. I cannot say enough to express our gratitude for the outstanding musical education and support she has received. She has grown into an accomplished, polished singer thanks to the loving guidance and encouragement of choir direcor Mrs. Millgard. Choristers are given the opportunity to perform solo, take part in college-level master classes and competitions, learn how to conduct and go on national and international choir tours! They also learn important social skills such as teamwork and leadership. I highly recommend this choir!
San Diego Children's Choir is a wonderful organization. They have rehearsal locations all around the city so one doesn’t have to go to a central location, like you do with Jr Theater or SD Youth Symphony. Teachers are great and the music theory education is good. Songs reflect many cultures and genres. My children were thrilled with the performance opportunities and the friends they made.
My daughter really likes San Diego Children's choir. They are learning a very broad set of songs.
The program is professionally run. Practices start on time. Communication with parents is clear.
I sang with this choir growing up and it was the best experience of my young adulthood. I learned wonderful music and got to perform at world-class venues, and some of my best friends were in the choir with me. It also allowed me the opportunity to make friends from across town with different life stories and circumstances. I still have music in my life, and I always will.
I am an alumna of the San Diego Children’s Choir. I joined the choir in third grade and
remained a chorister for 10 years, until I graduated from high school. Many choristers
loved the choir because it offered incredible performance opportunities-- we sang every
year with the San Diego Symphony in concert halls that never stopped feeling
enormous, we opened major San Diego conventions and sports games, we toured
nationally and internationally, and participated in choral festivals with young choristers
from all over the world.
These exceptional experiences are important memories of my childhood. But I realize
now, in retrospect, that which has yielded the greatest lasting benefit and pleasure was
the process by which I was trained as a musician and community member: the weekly
rehearsal. Without realizing it at the time, I was being trained in not only music theory,
but in the art of communal effort, the art of listening, the art of committing sustained
energy to a process in which the payoff was not always immediate.
I learned how to place the needs of the choir and the choral sound above my own, and
how to apply my specific skills in aid of a greater cause. When, in the course of choral
training, we first began singing in multi-part harmonies, I was consigned to the alto
section. I had soprano envy. I was convinced that they had the best melodic lines and
the most important parts. I now realize that this was the best thing that could have
happened to me as a singer-- as SDCC founder Polly Campbell explained to me when I
voiced my disappointment, a naturally good ear for tuning and harmony is underused
unless well-trained. Singing internal parts and counter-melodies creates sensitive
singers, attuned to the whole choral voice. It trains the mind and the ear to work in
concert with others, and the individual to value the sound of many voices above the
sound of his or her own.
Now a Soprano, I find myself thankful for the training that I received as a chorister in
the San Diego Children’s Choir. It continues to serve me well. Through college I sang
with La Jolla Symphony Chorus, and now as a doctoral student in history at the
University of Chicago I perform with multiple semi-professional organizations. Choral
singing has given me tools that I use in all facets of my life, as a student, a teacher, and a
performer.
Our story with the Children's Choir began 4 years ago. We watched the choir perform their Holiday performance at Copley Symphony Hall. My son turned to me and said "I want to do that". I looked them up online and my son began in January!
As the mother of 4 very active children, I can without a doubt say that the choir has exceeded my expectations. The choir has provided my son access to quality music education through an activity he enjoys going to. We had tried fitting a music activity into his busy sports schedule in the past and found scheduling to be impossible. The Children's Choir has multiple rehearsal sites so when sports practices/games prevented us from getting to our normal rehearsal site we would do a make-up rehearsal at another local site on a different day. This is something I could never accomplish in the past. My son is now more well-rounded than ever. Not only does he enjoy being active in sports, but he can also appreciate great music!
My experience has been so wonderful that I now have 3 children in the choir. My only regret is that I didn't learn about the choir early enough for my oldest son to join. However, even without directly joining, my oldest son has also grown from our experience with the choir by attending all his siblings performances!
Thank you San Diego Children's Choir for providing our children with a quality music education that enriches our family life and will enrich our children's lives for years to come!
We've had a wonderful experience in the choir this year. The teachers are wonderful and have built up my daughter's confidence over the course of the two seasons. They manage to teach the kids so much while keeping it fun. We are looking forward to next season for sure!
The impact that the choir has on San Diego youth is awesome! Increased learning development, opportunities to see the world, great friendships and leadership development. And this commitment looks great on college applications. Fun is included as icing on the cake.
The music teacher, Mrs. Oram is wonderful! Staff is very kind and supportive. Children are engaged, happy, and having fun. Children are challenged and learning music in a fun caring environment.
Such a great program for kids. My daughter enjoys the choir so much. It is time consuming without being overly so. The teachers are great and really know how to work with children.
SDCC teaches children how to be great musicians in technique and theory while singing fun songs and through play.
As a retired manager of a major, music-oriented, non-profit, I truly believe in the benefits that young people derive from music education. Witnessing the growth of children in the Choir has reinforced that belief. What I did not fully understand was the benefit these young people gain from the "teamwork" required of them in the Choir. I now see that teamwork exposure as a further indication of the wonderful opportunity that San Diego Children's Choir presents to its participating young people.
When one interfaces with these choristers, you quickly appreciate their self-confidence, poise and clarity of expressiveness. Much of that, it would seem, is the result of their involvement in the programs of San Diego Children's Choir.
The San Diego Children's Choir was a large part of my life for 10 years.
From the ages 8-18, I went to weekly rehearsals, performed concerts all over San Diego...and got to travel the world! Because of the choir, I got to visit Italy at the age of 12, France at 14 (during the World Cup!!), Germany/Austria at 16, and England/Wales at 18.
Polly Campbell was an amazing lady and I'm so happy she founded the choir... which let me have so many great experiences (and friends!)
It is because of SDCC that I went on to join the UC Women's Chorale and subsequently the Alumni Chorus at UC Berkeley. This offered me great opportunities, not only travel, but also leadership positions, which in term influenced my career after undergrad.
This is a wonderful organization that reaches out to every corner of San Diego County to bring music education to children where their schools often fall short. The Neighborhood Choir Program especially is a beacon of hope for children in underprivileged areas that do not have the money or the opportunity to participate in any performance art and gives them a healthy and enriching extra-curricular activity.
This is my son's first year in the choir and he loves it! The opportunity to perform and travel as a group is wonderful. The quality of the children's voices and the adult instruction and leadership is impressive. I am sorry we did not know about the choir earlier.
Our daughter has been singing with SDCC for over 5 years. One of the rewards for us is we get to hear her break into spontaneous singing in the car from time to time. She has also made many friends with other choristers!
My daughter spent 10 years singing with SDCC and I served as a parent volunteer and on the Board of Directors as I so appreciate all the the choir has done for my daughter. Not only did she develop a beautiful voice, gained knowledge of choral music and music theory, she served our community. SDCC was involved in some fabulous community service opportunites. My daughter traveled with the choir, making joyful music all over the world. She made wonderful friends and learned the value of community service. We will forever have a special place in out hearts for SDCC and beautiful memories to last a lifetime. I will forever be grateful for the opportunites SDCC gave to my daughter!
I had the privilege of being a parent volunteer, Board Member and now an Advisor after my daughter spent 10 years in the SDCC. It was the most rewarding experience to watch the children grow in their confidence and maturity as they developed their voices and ability to perform for the community. I encourage families to get involved so that others may benefit from the education and friendships that will last a lifetime.
My son has enjoyed his experience with the choir immensely. When I say "Let's practice your music," he jumps at the chance. I love the choir leader's approach to learning, using games and fun techniques. The kids learn the pieces quickly and correctly with ease. As a singer in an adult choir myself, I think I'd rather use games to learn my music, because memorization is getting harder and harder as I age. Valerie S.
This is an outstanding organization for our San Diego children. Participating students get a unique and high quality musical experience provided by experts intheir fields. Every concert is extraordinary and never disappoints. It is too bad all of our students cannot take part in the valuable experience. Students who areinvolved in music over a period of time out rank their non-music peers academically, socially, civically and emotionally. This fabulous organization is filling a need that no other organization can provide. Thank you SDCC!
My son has been in SDCC for five years. He has grown from needing an "end of semester reward" to full engagement and enjoyment. He's got great memories of singing at the Nutcracker from the orchestra pit to performing at the Holiday Pops. He's met nice friends and enjoys the excellent calibre instruction.
A wonderful experience working with the Choir for the Tsunami Relief Efforts for the Red Cross at the Japanese Friendship Gardens. Beautiful music for a beautiful cause.
I sang in the Choir for many years and it was a fabulous experience! Not only did I learn about music and singing, but I made wonderful friends and great memories.
This choir has been integral to my son's development. He has gained confidence and skills that go well beyond singing. But, yes, the singing has been beautiful and brought me to tears many times. I love the San Diego Children's Choir!
I have been very fortunate to hear these young people sing and see them perform. You can't help but feel good and warm to hear them. They are truly gifted.
Both of our children were in the Choir for a number of years. It instilled both confidence and a love of music that has stuck with them and will for the rest of their lives. Our daughter now plays in the school band and plays the piano at home. Our son plays guitar and piano and sings in his high school honor choir. He was also selected to sing in the California All State High School Honor Choir. Both children have very high grades and we believe one of the reasons is their stronger connection to the school through music. Due to budget cuts the music programs in our schools have been cut severely. The Children's Choir helps fill that void and we believe is a great investment in your children's education and development and is well worth the cost and effort.
When I was a kid in the Choir - beginning as a charter member in 1990, I stuck with it through my high school graduation ten years later - SDCC was the best thing in my life. My friends there were irreplaceable; coming from all social groups and socio-economic backgrounds, our differences were checked at the door as we celebrated our common love for music and performing. The instruction was impeccable; founder/director Polly Campbell had complete control over her roost of choristers, and along with music, taught us posture, nutrition, professionalism, and inter-cultural respect. My memories were incredible; no other kid I knew had been to Europe four times before her eighteenth birthday, had sung in Royal Albert Hall in London and Il Duomo in Florence, had formed an adoptive relationship with a family in Normandy. Unfortunately, Polly passed away shortly after I left the Choir, and the organization struggled to continue meeting the standards its founder had so effortlessly set. An unyielding search for "the next Polly" resulted in several short-term music directors over the next few years. This lack of stability and familiarity made choristers and their families question their own commitments to the organization. By the time I returned to work in the Choir's office in 2006, however, it seemed the worst of the chaos was over. Things were running smoothly: we had a good group of employees and a great group of volunteers. The middle and high school kids were preparing to tour Europe once again. The Choir made one final attempt at finding a music director the following spring, then decided to embrace the system that had been working for the past few years: a sort of checks-and-balances system between the Board, the office and executive staff, and several talented and competent teacher/conductors for the different age-level choirs. Working in the office was both hectic and rewarding. There was almost always more work than the small staff could handle, and as a result, the Executive Director often seemed to be working 24-hour days. It seemed like one more consistent and committed pair of hands would have evened out the workload perfectly, taking stress off the Exec Director and making the whole organization run more smoothly; however, this is a dream that remains outside of the Choir's current budget. Seeing the happy kids and the proud parents at various concerts and outreach events always made the workload feel worth it; it also always strengthened my wish that this organization would one day get the extra help it deserves, so that we could reach out to more young San Diegans, who on a whole are starved for music education in their schools. I left my job at the Choir on good terms in mid-2007, and now return each week to sing with the budding Alumni and Young Adult Ensemble. I look forward to the day when I can enroll my own children in the Choir; I have total faith that, by then, we will have smoothed out the last of the kinks, so that SDCC can become the best thing in my kids' lives as well.
Since my late wife, Polly Campbell, with a Board of ten directors, developed the San Diego Children's Choir I, of course, was a willing partner in many ways. General office management as well as bookkeeping for a non-profit organization is not all peaches and cream, especially when the two persons responsible are man and wife! But it didn't take me long to know that the operation of the Choir was more important than each of us. My other 'chore' was accompanist for the single choir until suitable pianists could be found. During the twelve years before Polly died an amazing transformation occurred that can only be told by the Choir members and their parents by was observed daily by the Choir personnel. Those transformations were observed in the body of the choristers who were transformed from standard students into positive-going, energetic, intelligent human beings, ready to do what-ever it takes to accomplish what-ever it was they wanted. As many research projects have shown, music practice embodies changes in the way the brain operates, not only in learning how to sing but also in how to do other mental projects such as calculations, writing of essays, understanding others, and more. All of this began with the development of the San Diego Children's Choir, was nurtured along by the leadership and teachers over the twenty years the Choir has been in operation, and will continue on into the future. Thank you for allowing me to share this humble opinion of the San Diego Children's Choir. James Campbell former Interim Music Director The San Diego Children's Choir
Our daughter, now 11, has been in the choir since first grade. She's loved all of her conductors, even while chafing sometimes at the discipline. Now she's skilled in music reading, singing and professional demeanor, some of which she learned without even realizing that what she was experiencing was instruction according to a clear methodology - she just thought she was practicing and having fun. Though she has started and stopped several activities, including violin, which she does at school mainly to remain social with her musical friends, she's constant and dedicated with her singing. I don't know how far she'll go, but I won't be surprised if she keeps it up for her entire academic career and beyond.
The San Diego Children's Choir is able to pick up where our schools leave off, whether it is at the elementary, middle school or high school level. In fact, some school programs are now non-existent due to California's budget crisis. Studies have shown that children who perform in choirs do better in school and later in life. The San Diego Children's Choir gives children from throughout San Diego and neighboring communities the opportunity to perform in settings that inspire them.
I joined the San Diego Childrens Choir when I was in third grade, and I loved it so much that I stuck with it until I graduated high school 10 years later. The choir was a great experience for me, I learned how to sing, but also how to blend with others, how to shape the tone of my voice, how to sing multiple part harmony (up to 6 or 8 voice parts in some songs!) and how to act professional while performing. While in the choir I had the opportunity to travel as well. In the youngest choir there were several weekend tours to places such as Los Angeles or other near by cities, which allowed us youngsters to learn proper tour behavior before moving up to the Concert choir. Concert and Youth choir get to travel to much further places, and often times the choirs travel together, which allows the younger Concert Choir to look up to the older Youth Choir as role models. I was lucky enough to travel to Oregon, Germany/Austria, Italy and Australia during my time in the choir. All of these tours allowed me to experience different places, cultures, foods, and sing songs from the area. I have hundreds of cherished memories from choir tours, and anyone who has ever gone on one will tell you how much they loved the experience. Many of my good friends that I am still in contact with today were friends I made while in the choir, and traveled with while on tour. I cant say enough good things about the San Diego Childrens Choir, the music is excellent, and the conductors are always well prepared and have music suited to the level they are conducting. The office staff are hard working and friendly. The opportunities to perform are excellent and include a winter concert and a spring concert each year, and also chances to carol during the winder season, performances with the San Diego Symphony, performances in Copley Hall downtown, and many more! I loved every rehearsal and looked forward to every performance that we had. I was very sad to leave the choir when I graduated from high school, but was extremely happy to hear that an alumni choir was starting up.