Camaraderie and Competition
One of America’s most celebrated gatherings of young singers, the Golden Gate International Children’s and Youth Choral Festival attracts choirs from all over the world to perform, compete, and build international friendship. Founded in 1991, the Golden Gate Festival is sponsored every three years by the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir in the San Francisco Bay Area. It remains the only opportunity for children’s and youth choirs to meet and compete on an international field in the United States. Since its founding the event has brought more than 3,000 young musicians from 19 countries together in friendship and harmony, performing for more than 50,000 audience members from throughout Northern California.For one week in July of 2012, the Ninth Golden Gate Festival will convene in Berkeley, California. Artistic Director Robert Geary will oversee the festival activities, aided by renowned guest conductors Maria Guinand of Venezuela and Stephen Leek of Australia. The two Festival Massed Choirs, Children’s and Youth, will meet and sing together throughout the week. Competitions will take place for choirs and soloists, and all will perform in community concerts. The jury for the Historical, Folk, and Contemporary Choral Competitions will be comprised of Guinand, Leek, and Wang Jin of China. For more information on the leadership of the Festival, read about the Artists. The week culminates in a closing concert featuring the first-place competition winners and the massed choirs.
A hallmark of the Golden Gate Festival is the hospitality offered by the local community in the form of homestays for visiting international singers. We believe that sharing our homes with children from faraway cultures enriches our lives and theirs; it is an expression of goodwill that underlies the spirit of the Festival.
To learn about past Golden Gate Festivals, read about Past Participants.