The Long Beach Youth Chorus is planning for the future by growing their programming to include a new “Young Musicians” Program for children, grades 2-4. The full vision of the LBYC is to be a program that encompasses young children up through high school graduates. This is the first time the organization has taken steps to fulfill that part of their mission.

Under the direction of new Artistic Director, Stevie Hirner, the Chorus was able to maneuver the 20-21 pandemic season successfully with virtual and online rehearsals and programming. With the return of in-person, indoor rehearsals beginning September 12, the staff of the Chorus is pushing to recruit new singers for all levels of the organization.

The Chorus is currently open to all singers, grades 5-12, regardless of ability or experience. The choir sings a wide variety of styles of music. Last season featured both traditional and contemporary choral music, as well as a performance with the popular band Jelly of the Month Club. This season will feature the premiere of an LBYC commissioned work in Khmer to celebrate Long Beach’s Cambodian-American community, one of the first works in that language written for a children’s chorus.

The Young Musicians Program will meet at the same as the older Chorus, and will focus on music education more broadly, with less emphasis on performance. Instead, the program will last as a music immersion experience for children to learn how to sing well and properly, read music, and experience a wide range of instruments, styles and genres.

The Long Beach Youth Chorus was founded in 2017 with the goal of becoming the premier civic youth/children’s chorus in the region. The Chorus has moved its rehearsal location to St. Matthew Catholic Church on 7th & Temple in order to be able to better connect with the children and families living in the central neighborhoods of Long Beach. Tuition for both the Young Musicians’ Program and the Chorus is just $100 per child for the entire season.

The move and the low tuition is in keeping with the organization’s vision statement, to be a diverse multi-chorus organization that provides every child in the region the opportunity to perform in a choir and gives them the life-changing skills that choral singing can develop. The Long Beach Youth Chorus can introduce those life-changing experiences to its singers and young musicians.

To register for the Long Beach Youth Chorus, visit