The Singing Life: Chanticleer National Youth Choral Festival

A major pillar of Chanticleer’s mission is its comprehensive education program – perhaps the least known of its activities, but one widely recognized as an important contribution to music education in the Bay Area and around the country.

Planned and supervised by full-time Education Director Ben Johns (a member of the ensemble from 2003-2006), the outreach to middle and high school students is unique in that members of the ensemble, the Music and Education Directors implement it personally, and it is free to participating students.

One component of Chanticleer's education program are the Youth Choral Festivals  for high school and middle schools in the Bay Area and around the country. After 10 exciting and successful years of one-day Youth Choral Festivals, we had the ambitious idea to have a four-day version at Davis Symphony Hall in San Francisco and to invite choruses we had met in our travels. The William Randolph Heart Foundation was kind enought to make it possible. We hope you enjoy it!

This live concert recording includes the American premeir of Daniel-Lesur's 'Annonciation', narrated by Fredrica von Stade.

Nation Youth Choral Festial Choirs:

Bishop Amat Memorial High School, La Puente, CA
C.D. Hylton High School, Woodbridge, VA
Members of Gioventu Musicale, of the Hawai’i Youth Opera Chorus, Honolulu, HI
Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA
Pacific Youth Choir, Portland, OR
Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, CA
Paso Robles High School, Paso Robles, CA
Piedmont High School, Piedmont, CA
San Francisco School of the Arts High School, San Francisco, CA
Sandy Creek High School, Tyrone, GA
Santa Rosa High School, Santa Rosa, CA
Templeton High School, Templeton, CA

Program notes can be downloaded here