Stay tuned for Youth Choral Festival 2026 information!
June 27 - July 2, 2024
San Diego, CA USA
SPREADING JOY THROUGH INTERNATIONAL SONG
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SPREADING JOY THROUGH INTERNATIONAL SONG 🎵
The San Diego Children’s Choir is pleased to present its inaugural Youth Choral Festival, June 27 - July 2, 2024. The 6-day festival offers middle and high school choirs (treble and mixed voice) the opportunity to work with a guest conductor in learning and celebrating repertoire primarily from Mexico and Central America. Participating choirs will perform, among other choral works, the world premier of a newly commissioned piece by Mexican composer, Maria Granillo, in unique venues and with other choirs in San Diego. Join us for a fun, educational, cultural exchange in beautiful San Diego - where great weather, pristine beaches and world class attractions will help make this festival a memorable experience!
Learn More About Our conductors
ARtisTIC DIRECTOR of sdcc,
youth choral festival director
Ruthie Millgard
Ruthie Millgard has served as the San Diego Children’s Choir’s artistic director since 2015. As an active member of San Diego’s larger choral community, she conducts district honor's choirs and serves as a clinician at K-12 choral festivals. Last year, Millgard presented an engaging workshop on choral improvisation at the ACDA National Children and Community Choirs Retreat. This September, she will appear as workshop leader and guest conductor at the Promotora de las Bellas Artes in Tijuana, Mexico. Next year, Millgard will be a guest conductor for the California Association of Independent Schools Honors Choral Festival Treble Choir (January, 2024).
Millgard’s choral journey started out as a child singing in the Boise Opera Children’s Chorus and the Seattle Girls Choir. She has a bachelor's degree in music education from Western Washington University (Dr. Leslie Guelker-Cone) and a master of music in choral conducting from the University of Oregon (Dr. Sharon Paul). After completing her undergraduate degree, Millgard worked as a public school music teacher in New York City. During her undergraduate and graduate training, Millgard sang at regional and national American Choral Directors Association conventions. Continued professional development includes successful completion of Kodaly Level Three credit hours from Holy Names University.
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Millgard is past Board President of the Choral Consortium of San Diego, a network of over 80 San Diego/Tijuana area choirs. She has also volunteered as rehearsal director for Voices of our City Choir, serving San Diegans living with housing insecurity. Millgard, with SDCC’s Chamber Choir, won Music and Memory’s 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award for the workshops Millgard created highlighting the value of singing for those living with dementia. Millgard has been a teacher/conductor with the San Diego Children’s Choir since 2014 and lives near San Diego with her husband and two young sons.
Guest Conductor
Cindy Ellis
Cindy Ellis is a Cuban-American music educator and vocalist. As a jazz vocal soloist and alto with the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers, Ellis frequently performs and teaches masterclasses to K-12 students throughout North America. Most recently, the JMAX Singers collaborated with Jacob Collier and Coldplay for NBC’s Saturday Night Live and were the headlining ensemble at the 2023 American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Cincinnati, OH.
A native of HolguĂn, Cuba, Ellis immigrated to the United States in 2005. She earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education/Jazz Voice from Florida International University and her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Missouri. Ellis is one of two full-time choral directors at Miami Arts Studio (MAS), a 6-12th grade public performing arts magnet school in Miami, FL. Together with her husband Ryan Ellis, they have built a top-notch choral program of first and second generation Hispanic immigrants.
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The MAS Vocal magnet aims to bring music that represents the cultures of Miami to their state, country and world. Wherever the MAS Vocal ensembles perform, Mrs. Ellis uses the repertoire, rhythms and languages of Latin America and the Caribbean to facilitate the students in self-expression. Her ensembles have been featured at The Adrienne Arsht Center, New World Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Florida Music Educators Association Conference in Tampa, FL. Her goal as a conductor and teacher is not simply to build professional musicians, but more importantly, kind, confident, passionate citizens who know what it is to be a part of something great, and who will reach for their full potential in any career they choose.
Notable MAS Vocal performances include recording background vocals for Gloria and Emilio Estefan, and several Latin Music award shows including the Latin American Music Awards and the Latin Grammy’s. In 2022, MAS Vocal students performed in Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas, a meeting hosted by President Joe Biden in Los Angeles that brought together 40 Presidents from the Americas and Caribbean nations.
In 2020, Mrs. Ellis was published by GIA Publications as a contributing author on “Teaching with Heart.” This year, she served as instructional design editor and contributing author of “Teaching Beyond the Music.”
san diego youth Choral festival
Itinerary - 2024
Unless otherwise noted, meals and group rehearsals will be at the University of San Diego. Transportation provided for all activities listed below.
Thursday, June 27 2024
Welcome/Opening Ceremony
Dinner provided
Evening
Check-in, University of San Diego (USD)
Opening Ceremony and Welcome Party, University of San Diego’s Shiley Theater
Informal Individual Choir Performances
Friday, June 28 2024
BEACH DAY
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided
Morning/Afternoon
Group rehearsal
Free time to enjoy La Jolla Shores beach
Bagged lunch from USD enjoyed at beach
Evening
Group rehearsal
Saturday, June 29 2024
SAn Diego Zoo Day
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided
Morning/afternoon
Free time to enjoy the world famous San Diego Zoo
Lunch at the zoo (voucher provided)
Evening
Group rehearsal
Workshop with internationally ranked Barbershop Chorus, San Diego Chorus
Sunday, June 30 2024
Balboa Park
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided
Morning
Group rehearsal
Afternoon
Perform at the world famous Spreckels Organ Pavilion in collaboration with San Diego’s Civic Organist, Raul Prieto RamĂrez. San Diego’s Spreckels Organ is the world’s largest outdoor organ.
Bagged lunch from USD enjoyed in Balboa Park
Free time to enjoy the many gardens, museums, and artist studios in historic Balboa Park
Evening
Dance workshop and party at USD with Mexican folk music ensemble, arranged by the Center for World Music
Monday, July 1 2024
Festival Concert
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and late dinner provided
Morning
Final group rehearsal
Individual choir rehearsals at USD
Afternoon/Evening
Dress Rehearsal and individual choir sound-checks
Festival Concert at UCSD’s Epstein Family Amphitheater
Individual choir performances as well as full group numbers
Post-Concert dinner and dance party
Tuesday, July 2 2024
Departure
Breakfast provided
Morning
Check-out and departure