FOREST VOICES CHOIR
Singing for the Whole ChildCalling all Kids who Love to SING!
Humming in the car, belting along to your Spotify playlist – you weren’t sure for a while, but now it can no longer be denied. Your child loves to SING!
How can you feed this budding interest?
Private singing lessons? Maybe you even tried that, but your child was underwhelmed by learning the mechanics of singing, and by singing alone with the piano.
Turns out they don’t want to stand there one on one with a teacher who directs them how to stand, breathe, and improve their pitch.
They just want to sing!
Isn’t there some place where they can just do that along with some other kids who love singing too? A place that lets them explore singing in a playful, holistic, developmentally appropriate way?
I get it!
As a professional songleader and singer-songwriter who grew up singing in choruses, I know how much fun singing can be.
But I also know that vocal instruction as I experienced it, where we sat still, glued to our music stands, can be a developmental mismatch for kids who need to move.
I want you to know that chorus doesn’t have to be that way!
As a songleader, I’ve spent fifteen years developing an approach to singing that’s embodied, playful and fun. I like to call it authentic singing. It’s based on the idea that who we are is enough, and singing is a chance to celebrate that. To this day, I’ve brought authentic singing to many hundreds of families through my choruses and classes, and learned so much along the way.
Now I’m drawing on all of that experience to create a new offering – a choral singing experience for the whole child!
Introducing…
What Your Child Will Learn
Authentic Singing – How to sing with freedom, authenticity, and joy
Self-Confidence – Develop greater confidence not only in your singing voice, but also in who you are
Deep Listening – Listening is the foundation of musicianship, but it’s also an important life skill.
Social Skills – Connect with other kids through the joyful activity of making music together.
Mindfulness – Awareness of the body, the breath, and of the self in relationship.
How to Perform – Our season closes with the chance to share our songs with the wider community. Kids learn how to rise to the challenge of performance, including overcoming stage fright, making their voices heard, and more.
The Songs – Twelve joy-igniting spells your child will love. Learn them today, sing them for a lifetime.
Your Registration Includes
CHOIR WITH NOE
Your child will enjoy sixteen weeks of energizing weekly vocal instruction, plus a closing concert for family and friends.
PRACTICE RECORDINGS
We provide high quality practice recordings to help make learning easy. We ask that children listen to these recordings at least once a week between meetings.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Participation in a vibrant musical community of children and families, who are all taking part in Forest Voices.
T-SHIRT
Show your Forest Voices spirit with the very fashionable, sustainably sourced official Forest Voices t-shirt, designed by Peregrine Venable, age 7.
How it Works
Forest Voices meets in five smaller cohorts around the Bay Area. These cohorts are kept intentionally intimate, to foster deeper connections and help prevent overwhelm for sensitive kiddos.
Then, at the end of our season, there’s a final performance that brings all Forest Voices cohorts together. This performance is optional, but for children who choose to attend or perform with us, it’s a magical experience!
Here’s a picture from our last big concert, taking the stage with Noe’s grown up chorus, Mothersong at the beautiful Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco.
Kind Words
From families who participated in the very first season of Forest Voices Choir!
I’m so thrilled to hear Noe will start up a children’s chorus. Our eldest has been attending Noe’s music classes since she was 6 months old, so transitioning to children’s singing with Noe will be a dream. In my experience at Mothersong, I love that Noe teaches us how to sing from an embodied, connected place, which is so different than other singing I’ve experienced. In singing with Noe, I learn about energy, grounding, connection, teamwork, support, bravery and care, and I can’t think of a better way to introduce my daughter to both the joy of singing and the subtle work of grounding and energy work than in Noe’s care!
I wanted to say thank you again for the space you have created with the choir. You are a truly magical being. The performance was a highlight of our week. My daughter was so happy and proud of herself, and we were delighted to see it! And none of it would exist without your vision, for which I’m truly grateful.
It’s a real trek for me to get my daughter and myself to a singing circle with Noe but I have repeatedly found that I am energized, inspired, nurtured and SO glad we made the effort. Noe is such a gifted song leader, teacher and spiritual guide. We are supported on multiple levels when we spend time with her. The songs are always magical and a doorway to so much more, too. Can’t recommend her singing circles highly enough!
Forest Voices is such a beautiful thing. Thank you, Noe, for the safe space you’ve created for the children to sing sweet soulful songs together.
We feel so lucky to be a part of this unique and amazing group. My daughter absolutely loves singing with Noe! It’s the highlight of her week. Thank you Noe for sharing your gift with us!
I want to congratulate you for orchestrating a wonderful concert today. The group sounded oh so lovely. The song about our ancestors not being beneath the earth was especially touching and the bird song performance was just beautiful. The children did so well! I thank you with all my heart for sharing your gift of song with my daughter, and with children from around the bay area and bringing us all together today.
My daughter was so nervous and told me before we arrived that she wasn’t going to like singing with strangers. When she got home she told me that it was fun and that she loved it!
What We Sing
This group starts out with unison singing, and may build up to rounds and two part harmony, depending on the age spread of the group. Some of the types of songs we sing are
- Modern circle songs with uplifting messages to help develop positive self esteem and a sense of belonging
- Gorgeous world folk songs
- Songs to energize and inspire, often integrating choreographed movements and body percussion
- A note regarding cultural respect. As a white bodied song leader, I recognize the harm caused by cultural appropriation. For this reason, when teaching songs from cultures other than my own Jewish and Celtic lineage, I teach only those songs for which I have direct permission and / or enough contextual knowledge to represent the tradition accurately and with respect.
If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.
– IGNACIO ESTRADA
Schedule
Forest Voices Choir will run in five parallel cohorts, meeting at different locations and on different days and times around the San Francisco Bay Area. Individual cohorts are kept intentionally small for reasons of COVID safety and group culture. However, all groups are invited to come together for a concert and celebration at the close of our season together.
Meeting times, places and days:
Starts Mondays, February 5th, 2:45 – 3:45 PM, Pacifica, Vallemar Elementary School, (Enrolled Vallemar students only, register through the school’s afterschool program, here.)
Starts Tuesday, February 13th, 4 – 5 PM, Pacifica – Private Residence in Sharp Park
Starts Wednesday, February 14th, 4 – 5 PM, San Francisco, Noe Valley Ministry
Starts Thursday, February 8th, 2:45 – 3:45 PM, Pacifica, Sunset Ridge Elementary School. (Enrolled Sunset Ridge students only, register here.)
Starts Sunday, February 4th, 10:30 – 11:30 AM, Oakland – Private residence in Temescal / Piedmont neighborhood
Closing concert with optional participation for all groups – Saturday, June 1st at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St., S.F. (Concert at 3PM.)
(You’ll see the complete schedule for each cohort when you go to register.)
Hear the Music
Here’s a song from our last concert – “Not a Lone Wolf” by Steph Drouin and Aimée Ringle.
The grown ups standing in the back are members of Mothersong Chorus, who joined the children on several songs.
Who’s it for?
This group serves children ages 7 – 11 of all genders. We stand for equity – BIPOC folks warmly welcome. This space is trans affirming.
Singing is like a celebration of oxygen.
– BJORK
Hear the Music
Here’s a song we sang last season – “How Could Anyone” by Libby Roderick.
This season, we’ll sing a whole new set of songs, centered around nature, connection, equity, and belonging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q – Can my child try the group before we commit?
A – Free trials of Forest Voices Choir are available pending space availability – that is, until a given cohort is sold out. When you click through to register, just look for the listing called “Try it for Free.” From there, just select your cohort to book your trial.
Q – Is this a drop off group?
A – Yes.
Q – My child is younger than 7, can they come?
While most children are between the ages of 8 – 11, we do have a few younger children who join us. This will be approved on a case by case basis, so if you’re interested in having your younger child join us, please reach out to me at noe@noevenable.com to discuss your specific situation.
Q – My child is reticent to join without me there. Can I attend with them?
A – Absolutely. You’re most welcome to come stay with us. In this case, please bring a quiet, non-screen activity to do such as knitting, a book, or a journal. (I will ask that phones and devices be set to silent and put away for the duration of our meeting.)
Q – Do you teach sight reading and music theory?
A – I do not teach sight reading. However, our embodied approach to singing does support the development of other aspects of general musicianship, such as pitch matching, rhythmic sense and deep listening.
Q – Can I pay in installments?
A – Yes! Here’s how to do it. When you click through to the shop page to register, you’ll see several cohorts to choose from. First, choose your desired cohort. Then, under the “add to cart” button, click “more payment options.” That takes you to a payment window where you’ll see “Shop Pay” as an option. Click on Shop Pay to configure your desired payment plan.
Is there anything else you’d like to know? If so, please don’t hesitate to email me at noe@noevenable.com.
Financial Exchange
The cost of this group works out to approximately $25 per hour long class, payable either up front or in installments. If your child is new to the chorus this season, they will also need a Forest Voices T-Shirt, which adds a materials fee of $20.
This covers the cost of Noe’s teaching and planning time, tithing / licensing fees for music, creating practice recordings, venue rentals, and all the online platforms that help me serve you.
We also have scholarships available for those in need. To request assistance, please fill out this form.
Thank you so much for supporting my teaching, and letting me support you.
About the Director
Noe Venable is an award winning music educator (Family Favorite Awards, best of SF and Marin) with fifteen years experience. In New York, she was music director for the Brooklyn Waldorf School, where she taught music to grades 1 – 6 and led several choruses. After leaving that position to become a mother, she taught music to homeschoolers, drawing on Orff, Kodaly, and Waldorf pedagogy, while also maintaining a lively private teaching studio.
Since moving back to the Bay Area in 2015, her main offerings have been Noe’s Garden Magical Music Class for young children and Mothersong Chorus for women and nonbinary folks, which to date have brought heart centered music making to more than a thousand families.
Also a singer-songwriter, Noe has released eight critically acclaimed albums of original folk music for grown ups and an additional eight albums for children and has toured the US in support of Ani Di Franco, They Might Be Giants and many other well known artists, and has cultivated a worldwide following of like minded folk drawn to nature, spirituality, and the creative path.
Noe holds an MTS from Harvard Divinity School. She is also a certified practitioner of Depth Hypnosis and Applied Shamanic Counseling as taught by Dr. Isa Gucciardi, and is also an ordained interfaith minister of the Buddhist Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
Want to Join Us?
I want to give you a heads up that because Forest Voices Choir cohorts are kept intentionally small, they fill up quickly!
So if you want your child to join us, don’t delay! Register now to join us for Forest Voices Children’s Choir!