Auditions
Choir auditions for the 2020-2021 season enrollment are being held now. To schedule an audition click here to fill out and submit the online audition application. Our Executive Director, Dr. Anna Krendel will contact you to schedule a vocal assessment for your child.
At this time we are holding auditions via video submission.
Boys and girls ages 7-18, who love music and singing are encouraged to audition to join our vocal music classes for kids.
Audition is not required for children ages 4-6, who are welcome to enroll in our Kinderchoir. To request Kinderchoir registration materials email us at sing@musyca.org or call 818-554-9937.
We are looking for students who have musical potential, are passionate about singing, and are eager to learn and be a part of a great team. No previous choir experience is needed.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to...
-
Join one of our several children's and youth vocal ensembles, based on their age and experience.
-
Study music with our exceptional faculty, dedicated to the development of each child's artistic potential in an encouraging, supportive environment.
-
Sing outstanding choral repertoire with other talented young people, who share their passion for music and singing in perfect harmony.
-
Learn to sing, develop their voices, gain performance skills and experience.
-
Acquire and expand musicianship and music reading skills.
-
Perform with professional musicians, artists, choirs, and orchestras.
-
Record at LA's top recording studios.
-
Represent Los Angeles and the US on domestic and international tours.
-
Sing songs of various genres and styles, in many different languages.
-
Have fun singing, enjoy making music at a professional level.
-
Make new friends and develop friendships that will last a lifetime.
-
Serve the community through charitable performances and events.
Are you homeschooling your child? MUSYCA Children's Choir is an authorized music education provider for the home school community and an approved vendor for the Sage Oak Charter School, Sky Mountain, iLEAD Schools, Excel Academy of Arts and Sciences and SCVi.
We provide group and private voice lessons, music theory classes, recorder instruction, piano lessons, violin lessons, ukulele and guitar music classes to children and youth under the guidance of our exceptional faculty.
During COVID-19 pandemic we offer vocal and instrumental music education to children and youth via online classes, virtual activities, and performances. While our in-person concerts have been postponed due to social distancing, we are creating and sharing virtual choir performances for the community, available online.
Our Choirs
Harmony Choir
Ages 14-18 Audition Required
Wednesdays, 5:30PM-7:30PM
This advanced choir performs a varied repertoire of high quality music in unison and multi-part harmony. The repertoire is carefully selected to benefit the young voice, with lyrics that resonate with this age group. The students learn to sing expressively with others and alone, with correct posture, breathing and voice production during group singing lessons. Study of musicianship is included in this course. The choir regularly performs in public, records and collaborates with recording artists, composers, performing arts groups and orchestras. Tours domestically and internationally during summers. Past performances include NBC's The Voice, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Carnegie Hall, Notre Dame de Paris, Disneyland, Staples Center, Los Angeles Opera, the Burbank Chorale, Hollywood Studio Orchestra, Symphony in the Glen. Work with composers Michael Giacchino, Jeff Kryka, Danny Bensi, Dan Romer, Alan Silvestri, Glen Ballard, Beto Hale, Nuno Malo, Arthur Rubinstein and Jamie Christopherson. Recordings with producers DJ Mustard, Malay and Mark Needham, artists Camila Cabello, Lawrence Rothman, Danny Swain , Rihanna, Raury (Capitol Records), Scooter, Good Charlotte, Newsboys (Fair Trade), Luke Christopher (RCA), Dave Koz, Danny Brown (Warp Records), Nikita Presnyakov, Alpine Universe and Princess Superstar.
Chamber Singers
Ages 16-25 Audition Required
Wednesdays, 7:30PM-8:30PM
MUSYCA Chamber Choir is the advanced touring ensemble, the pinnacle of the Musical Youth of California experience. This vocal group provides the advanced training and performance opportunities for the members of the Harmony Ensemble and the Young Men's Chorus during their junior and senior years of high school, as well as for college-age students. The singers in this ensemble are committed to achieving the highest level of musicianship and artistic expression through study and performance of choral literature for mixed voices. In addition to the regular rehearsals and performances, the ensemble participates in professional recordings, concerts. The group recently performed at the White House, appeared on NBC's TV show The Voice, Ozzy and Jack's World Detour (A&E) and ABC's Fresh off the Boat. The group recorded the vocals for Ella Mai's hit record Easy and appears in the music video for this song.
Young Men's Chorus
Ages 14-21 Audition Required
Mondays, 6:00PM-7:30PM
The Young Men’s Chorus provides advanced vocal training and performance opportunities for the high school age students, and is designed for changed male voices. The stylistically and culturally varied repertoire is carefully selected for this age group. This touring ensemble combines with the Harmony Choir to learn and perform choral literature for mixed voices. In addition to its regular Monday night rehearsal, the students attend a combined practice approximately once every three weeks on a pre-scheduled basis. Extra pre-concert rehearsals are required.
Melody Choir
Ages 10-14 Audition Required
Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30PM-5:50PM
Melody Choir is a joyful choral experience for children who love to sing. The members of this group receive weekly instruction in Musicianship. Students learn to join their voices in unison, sing expressively, and work as a team during group voice lessons. The students in this group perform a varied repertoire of high quality, age-appropriate music. Beginning part singing is introduced through rounds and partner songs. The singers enjoy singing with others and alone, as they participate in fun activities and games, which instill correct posture, breathing, and voice production, while developing pitch matching and rhythmic skills, and training musical memory.
Junior Chorus
Ages 7-10 Audition Required
Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30PM-5:25PM
Junior Chorus is an exciting choral experience for young children who love to sing. Students in this group participate in singing and fun activities and games, which instill correct posture, breathing and vocal production, while developing pitch matching and rhythmic skills, and training musical memory. Junior Chorus performs twice throughout the year, singing a varied repertoire of high quality, age-appropriate music. The members of this group receive weekly instruction in musicianship through playing the Recorders. Parents are welcome to observe the rehearsals.
Kinderchoir
Ages 4-6 Non-auditioned
Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30PM-4:55PM
Kinderchoir is a fun beginning choral experience for young children who love to sing. Students in this group participate in singing, musical games, pitch exploration, and rhythmic activities. Parents are welcome to observe and participate in the rehearsals.
Voice Lessons for Children
Teaching children to sing beautifully is our specialty
MUSYCA choristers receive outstanding vocal instruction, as they study and perform musical repertoire consisting of high-quality, age-appropriate vocal music for young people, varied in style, time period and character; accompanied and a cappella.
Each choral rehearsal is a singing lesson, where the children work on the following vocal performance skills:
Healthy vocal production: The children learn to use diaphragmatic breathing, which will support the tone and keep the vocal instrument strain-free and healthy. Correct sitting and standing postures will be taught and reinforced through a variety of fun, age-appropriate activities.
Breath Control for singing is taught through a variety of activities -- stretches, exercises, and analogies. The students are taught to use diaphragmatic vs. clavicular breathing for singing.
Learning the correct Pitches and Rhythms: Musicianship classes, with focus on music theory, sight reading and aural perception, are at the core of our curriculum. The younger students learn new repertoire by rote, while rudiments of sight-singing are incorporated through use of Kodaly system. The director and the pianist will provide the appropriate model for the children to learn the music, using creative ways to facilitate students’ learning through repetition.
Singing with correct intonation: The students sing major and minor scales, the whole tone and chromatic scales, identify and intonate the leading tones, as well as ascending and descending intervals. To facilitate singing in tune, the students are provided with the rehearsal and acoustical environment conducive to healthy, free tone production.
Sing with uniform vowel sounds: The students learn to identify the correct vowel shapes through a variety of activities, and apply this knowledge to singing the repertoire.
Diction: The students are taught to understand and communicate the meaning of the text in the repertoire. Repertoire of songs in English and in foreign languages is studied each season. Through a variety of activities the singers will understand function of vowels as carriers of sound, and the consonants as articulators. The director will model clear singer’s diction for the choir. Native speakers and experts, when available, will be called upon to present foreign language texts to the children.
Precision: Students learn to internalize the rhythmic motion of the music by using subdivision and finding the smallest possible units of beat. How to start and end the piece together with the ensemble will be taught. The students will be taught to understand the conducting gestures, and how to follow them. The singers’ assigned placement will enable them to hear each other and see the conductor.
Blend in the ensemble is achieved by unification of the vowel sounds and correct student placement within the choir. Balance in the sound of the choir will be assured by correct division of the students into appropriate vocal parts (Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto), based on the auditions. Part placement will be re-evaluated later in the year and adjusted, if necessary.
Phrasing, Style, and Interpretation are important parts of the learning process. The choir will strive to achieve high-level authentic, artistic performances. The singers will develop different models of the choral sound for specific historical music periods and musical styles within these periods. Collaborations with contemporary musical artists and composers and world premieres of new music are the essential components of MUSYCA experience. The children evaluate performances of their peers and other choirs through participation in festivals and friendship concerts.