Pacific Boychoir Classes & Camps

This might be too far as well, but I'd like to share our daughter's choir, Sorella at Pacific Boy Choir Academy. https://www.pacificboychoir.org/sorella-girls-choir/ It's a very sweet group of girls, and the teacher, Ms. Rita Lily is incredibly talented, dedicated, warm, and kind. For younger girls, they have a group called Sorellina. We did a private voice lesson for a short while but switched to a choir because of the social and emotional benefits of being in a choir. Sorella and Sorellina are small in size, so girls get a lot of individualized attention, vocal training, and music instruction. In one year of being with the choir, our child's musicianship has improved by leaps and bounds and made wonderful friends. I cannot believe how genuinely sweet, kind, caring, and welcoming these girls are. Some families come from Berkeley. I wonder if carpooling would be an option for you. 

If your son enjoys music/singing, I would highly recommend looking into the Pacific Boychoir Academy in Oakland, right off Piedmont Ave. They are a micro-school in terms of size with individualized learning for 3rd-8th graders. They also have a program for homeschoolers who participate in the music portion only and attend for half the day. There are also former homeschoolers who are now in the day school and my impression from speaking with other parents is that the transition went very well for their boys. We actually pulled my son from his school mid-year due to bullying and he's excelled in the small environment at PBA. We've been very pleased with how the school is able to cultivate a culture of kindness among the boys. I think much of this has to do with the small size and teacher/student ratio, in addition to the top notch instruction which includes a lot of social/emotional support. They are relatively affordable as private school options go and have pretty generous scholarship opportunities. Happy to answer any questions if you are interested in hearing more about the school. 

We are going through similar challenges with our 11 year old daughter. We came upon an article that recommends choir for ADHD, anxiety and overall mental health.

The local youth choirs are just starting their year and this is a good time to reach out and join.  For our child who has low self esteem and lacks confidence in singing, Sorella at Pacific Boychoir Academy seemed to be the best choice. They do not require the child to prepare anything to audition. They asked us to come and have a short 10 or so minute meeting with the director simply so that the director can meet the child,  hear her voice and get a sense of her vocal range. It is a small group of girls who are very warm and kind. Our anxious child fit in beautifully from day 1.

Piedmont Children’s Choir and Oakland Youth Chorus are also a great choice. We explored these 2 options as well and our child chose Sorella which is a smaller ensemble with a less demanding schedule.

here is the article we found: https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/27/suppl_3/ckx186.259/4555873

I loved Music Together classes, held throughout the East Bay and beyond, with my two sons, starting at age 1 for the older boy and in the womb for the younger boy.  Lots of fun, much better music than most children's programs (IMO), and great "training" in general. At age 4 (or just before), I can recommend the Pacific Boychoir Academy's youngest boys program, based on the Kodaly method and every well taught. It's in Oakland off Piedmont Avenue (and near the Rockridge/Temescal neighborhoods too). I think it is great for boys to be with other boys (although there is also a new program for young girls at PBA as well!)), and this is a great program.  Singing and fun music 'instruction' at age 4 at PBA, coupled with starting piano lessons at about age 5, will allow your son to have fun and be engaged with music, use his whole body and whole brain, and get a great start no matter what type of music he may like or want to pursue as he gets older!  [My son didn't start at PBA until Age 8; he is now 15 and still going strong with them; I wish I had known about PBA even sooner!]

He would love the Day Camp at Pacific Boychoir Academy. http://www.pacificboychoir.org/ourchoirs/camps/boys-day-camp/

Its located off Piedmont Ave in Oakland.

Music and choir in the morning, field trips in the afternoon.

My son has been a chorister for 6 years in the afterschool program and loves it!
 

Pacific Boychoir Academy now has a girls afterschool choir.

See http://www.pacificboychoir.org/OurChoirs

Its on Tuesdays from 4:15-6:15 and the choir leader is wonderful.

The excellent program includes music theory training.

My son has participated for 5 years!

Also, Pacific Boychoir in Oakland has afterschool choir. My musically talented son still loves it, especially their theory instruction. A bonus is the summer tours.www.pacificboychoiracademy.org  A more casual choir is Oakland Youth Choir. 

Pacific Boychoir Academy has after-school choirs for many levels and abilities. They definitely sing songs and have lots of fun at the same time... Your son's loving to sing (plus an average ability to hear pitch and rhythm) will be perfect for this program and vice versa!

I recommend Pacific Boychoir Academy, their afterschool program.  Nobody's voice is "average" when it comes to choir.  My son's voice was called "amazing" by the director of that program, but then my son was most happy when he was able to truly "blend" with other boys who were singing the same part with him.  That's what makes singing in a choir one, the experience of singing together.  

Try it out, I think your son will like it!  Mine graduated from PBA's day program, and is now at the Oakland School for the Arts, in their vocal program.

Hope you and your son find something he enjoys!