Our choruses sing a wide variety of musical styles, from the western classical tradition to jazz, world music and popular songs. The advanced Young Women’s Chorus sings challenging and adventurous music for women’s voices. They perform collaborative programs with other prestigious Bay Area ensembles across many genres, including jazz, classical, and contemporary music, and present multi-disciplinary programs with dance and theatre groups. Vivo, Allegro, and Prelude Chorus also learn a wide variety of styles of music and sing in many different languages. Vivo Chorus sings 3 and 4-part music, Allegro Chorus 2 and 3-part music, and Prelude Chorus sings unison and 2-part music.
Our fall 2023 semester begins in-person on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
Each semester we have one day where potential choristers can observe and participate in a Prelude, Allegro, Vivo or the Young Women’s Chorus rehearsal. We have already held our spring open rehearsal, but please email [email protected] if you would like to observe a rehearsal this semester.
No! We have girls from the East Bay, South Bay, and Marin who participate in our program.
YWCP is committed to helping all qualified young women be a part of this program. A generous need-based financial assistance program is available. Financial Assistance can be requested after your audition, during the registration process.
Please email [email protected] for current tuition information. A generous need-based financial assistance program is available if our tuition is a barrier for your family.
Our season runs from September through the beginning of June. We hold auditions for all four choirs for the upcoming season in late May/early June and late August. Vivo, Allegro, and Prelude also accept new girls mid-season. These audition are held in the beginning of January. Visit our auditions page to see when our next auditions will be, or email [email protected] for more information.
Membership in YWCP choruses requires an audition. A student’s acceptance and chorus assignment are based on her age, vocal ability, and musical experience. Check out our auditions page for more complete information on the audition process and to sign up for an audition.
Our choirs are for girls in grades 2-12. We also offer two non-auditioned music classes, Dolce Singers for girls ages 4-5 and Arietta Singers for girls ages 6-7.
The premier ensemble, the Young Women’s Chorus, sings a season of 5-6 concerts in the SF Bay Area, including popular venues in the East Bay, South Bay and San Francisco. The Young Women’s Chorus also tours for a week to 12 days either nationally or internationally each summer. Vivo Chorus sings 4 or more concerts a year in San Francisco, Allegro Chorus sings 3-4 concerts a year in San Francisco, and Prelude Chorus sings 2-3 concerts a year in San Francisco. To view our upcoming concerts, please visit our concerts page.
There is a required dress rehearsal before each concert at the selected venue.
Young Women’s Chorus singers also take voice lessons approximately every other week in small groups and two private lessons with an assigned voice teacher. Singers are assigned geographically to the teacher nearest the chorister’s home.
Other occasional bookings or Festival appearances are taken for the choruses if they support the artistic growth of the singers and the prestige of the organization.
Our rehearsals are held at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore St in San Francisco. YWCP rehearsal space was chosen for easy access to public transportation. Many of our singers come from the East Bay via BART and MUNI and others come into San Francisco in carpools.
Please visit our Chorus Page to see each choir’s rehearsal schedule.
Matthew Otto is Artistic Director of YWCP and conductor of its premier chorus, the Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco (YWC). Matthew Otto is an innovative leader, educator, and collaborator with unparalleled dedication to choral music.
Vivo Chorus is directed by Kodály choral music educator Gemma Arguelles. Ms. Arguelles brings over 20 years of experience in choral music education to YWCP.
Allegro Chorus and Arietta Singers is directed by Kodály choral music educator Samantha Maas-Baldwin who has exceptional ability to nurture the love of singing in each chorister.
Prelude Chorus and Dolce Singers is directed by Kodály choral music educator Katie Jenks. Ms. Jenks is a teacher in the Oakland Unified School District and brings a love of music and passion for teaching our youngest singers.
YWCP created a COVID-19 task force that has been meeting to ensure safe and secure YWCP rehearsals and performances this season. The members of the task force that helped create these protocols are board members, a medical doctor, a psychologist, a school principal, a healthcare lawyer and parents. You can find this important document here. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or (415) 312-7787 with any questions about these protocols.
We are committed to following the guidelines of the San Francisco Department of Public Health Department (SFDPH) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) in regards to safe reopening of indoor rehearsals and performances. Since singing is a higher risk activity than attending school classes, some of our protocols will be more conservative to create the safest choral environment we can.
Have a question that isn’t listed here? Please email [email protected] and we will be happy to answer any questions you have!
