Nurture Your Son’s Voice with Oakland’s Premier After-School Choirs

Boys ages 4-18 learn and perform in PBA’s GRAMMY-winning choral program.

Pacific Boychoir does not require singers to have previous musical experience. We welcome new choristers in September & January each season. Boys ages 4-18 and their families are encouraged to visit a rehearsal and experience our GRAMMY-winning choral music education and performance program.

Choristers with previous vocal training are invited to meet with one of our Music Directors to determine their:

  • Range of voice
  • Ability to learn a simple tune
  • Ability to hear high and low pitches
  • Ability to match rhythmic patterns
  • Willingness to learn

Singers should be prepared to sing at least one verse of one song unaccompanied. Songs they already know, like Happy Birthday and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, are appropriate. If they have received any prior training, they should be prepared to demonstrate any theory or solfa skills they have. There is no fee for this meeting.

Learn More About Our Boys Choirs

Minstrels: Beginning Boys, Grade 1-3

When: Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 pm
Tuition: $2,225 per year
Directed by: Stella Brown

Minstrel choristers explore rhythm through patterns, movement, and playing Orff instruments. With a focus on learning teamwork and the basics of singing (good breathing, listening, and how to read music notes), they are exposed to a variety of musical styles and qualities of singing. We employ Kodály practices, extended warm-ups, vocal play, call-and-response, and both unison and small group singing. Minstrels perform twice a year and have the option of attending our daytime winter retreat and our summer music day camp, both held on our campus.

Intermezzi: Intermediate Boys, Grades 3-5

When: Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 pm
Tuition: $2,250 per year
Directed by: Emily Kusnadi

Intermezzi choristers learn rhythm, solfege, good tone quality, diverse music, and singing in two or three voice parts. Intermezzi choristers perform a few times a year at local churches & retirement homes, and in our annual December and May concerts along with our other choirs. These choristers have the option of attending an overnight retreat in March, summer day camp in August, and, depending on vocal ability, attendance, and maturity, may be invited to a weekend tour to Monterey in June.

Cantori: Experienced Boy Trebles, Grades 3-8

When: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 pm
Tuition: $3,025 per year
Directed By: Tim Silva

Cantori is a performance ensemble giving boys the opportunity to travel around the Bay Area and the United States. Their rehearsals are repertoire-intensive, where they sing in multiple voice parts and continue more advanced music-reading and ear training techniques. With the goal of being one of the best boychoirs in the United States, these choristers learn a more sophisticated repertoire and occasionally sing with the day school Troubadors in major performances with symphonies and on domestic tours.

Changed Voices: Advanced Young Men, Grades 9-12

When: Mondays 6:30-8:30 pm
Tuition: $2,800 per year
Directed by: Andrew Brown

Changed Voices are a challenging, fast-paced performance choir comprised of young men, typically in high school, with lower voices, tenor, baritone, and bass. They sing in four to eight parts and learn to sight read and vocalize at a professional level. One of the finest high school-age, tenor and bass choirs, our Changed Voices choristers are typically alumni of the day school, or the elite after-school treble choir (some have been singing with the Pacific Boychoir Academy for 5 to 10 years), giving them experience and skills across their entire upper and lower registers and with a wealth of choral music. They typically rehearse and perform with the Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass concert and touring choirs and often participate in orchestral performances.

Continuum: Elite Young Men, Grades 9-12

When: Mon. 6:15-8:15 pm and Wed. 7:00-9:00 pm
Tuition: $1100 per year with membership in Changed Voices (CV) or High School Troubadors (requires audition)
Directed by: Cameron Miya

Continuum is a high school a cappella group as comfortable in the 16th Century as the 21st. This elite ensemble, many of them alumni of the day school, performs music ranging from sacred Renaissance motets to contemporary pop hits. Continuum performs annually throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally. They have recently released singles on iTunes, Spotify, and other popular music media sites, have been heard on the NBC television show “The Blacklist”, and have been top contenders in the national Harmony Sweepstakes. Follow Continuum a cappella on Facebook and YouTube.

Want to know more about Pacific Boychoir Academy?

Request a 1 on 1 with our Admissions Staff to understand how Pacific Boychoir Academy can help bring out the best of your son or daughter.