We’re excited to announce that the San Diego Children’s Choir will launch its first ever Youth Choral Festival June 27-July 2, 2024! The festival, located at University of San Diego, offers middle and high school choirs the opportunity to work with a guest conductor in learning and celebrating repertoire primarily from Mexico and Central America. Choristers will come together from 8 youth choirs from around the country and will perform the world premier of a newly commissioned piece by Mexican composer, Maria Granillo. Our guest conductor, Cindy Ellis, is a Cuban-American music educator and vocalist based in Miami, Florida, where, together with her husband Ryan Ellis, she has built a esteemed choral program at a 6-12th grade public performing arts magnet school of first and second generation Hispanic immigrants.
The 6-day event promises to be a fun, educational, and cultural exchange in our beautiful city. Amongst performing at historical venues like the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in collaboration with civic organist, Raul Prieto Ramirez and at the newly built Epstein Family Amphitheater at UCSD, participants will enjoy iconic San Diego landmarks, like San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, and La Jolla Shores. Festival attendees will also participate in a dance workshop with Cuban folk music ensemble, Omo Aché arranged by the Center for World Music.
SDCC is the county’s oldest and largest choral music training program for area youth ages 1-18. Every year we provide high-quality choral music education and performance opportunities to over 1,900 San Diego children. Our performances are enjoyed by over 65,000 people through our 20+ annual local performances.
Mark your calendars for June 30 and July 1, where national youth choirs will perform alongside choristers from SDCC’s very own Intermediate, Premier, Chamber Choirs and Youth Chorale! We’ll share more about how to see these concerts in the coming months.
If you or someone you know is interested in supporting the Youth Choral Festival, sponsorship opportunities are available. Sponsors will benefit from the media exposure the 6-day event will offer. With over 200 participants from youth choral groups attending and multiple performances across San Diego, there will be multiple opportunities for TV, radio and social media coverage, along with over 1,000 in-person attendees at the concerts. Concert venues include: University of San Diego, Spreckels Organ Pavilion of Balboa Park, and Epstein Family Amphitheater at UCSD.
For more information and to view the itinerary visit https://www.sdcchoir.org/festival. For details on festival sponsorships, please contact Carrie Cottriall at ccottriall@sdcchoir.org.