Sing in Harmony - Community singing in including Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties

Dedicated to the Joys and Benefits of Singing Together

Singing with a group of friends is not only a fun, creative and rewarding way to spend some time but more and more studies are showing the various health, social and general well being of group harmony singing. Here are some places in your community where you can sing.

Choruses in the North Bay

Novato Music Association Chorus

For more than 45 years, the Novato Music Association Chorus has inspired people of all musical abilities and backgrounds to sing a variety of uplifting choral works - presented at bi-annual shows for the holidays and in celebration of Spring.

Hometown: Novato, CA

Occidental Community Choir

The Occidental Community Choir creates, performs, and promotes choral music composed primarily by its members. Our music reflects a wide range of personal experience and represents an authentic connection we have with one another and the community at large. We mentor and support one another in developing our skills as singers, lyricists and composers. We strive to share a meaningful musical experience with our audience community.

Hometown: Occidental, CA

Marin Men’s Chorus

At a wedding reception in Tiburon in 1980, a discussion took place about "why not get a group of guys together once in a while to sing college songs, and the like." John Doherty, Joe Bacheller, Ray Jasek and Tom Behrens were attending. Former Tiburon mayor Al Kuhn and his wife, Joy, hosted the wedding for one of their children. The idea caught on, and an evening was picked to meet at Del Mar School. A few phone calls were made, and a piano was available in the music room.

In February 1981 the first meeting of what became the Tiburon Men's Chorus was held in the music room at Del Mar School. A gaggle of more than 20 voices showed up. Professor Hy Krongard, who had been teaching vocal music and music appreciation for years at College of Marin and at Del Mar School and was a respected member of the musical community, became the first conductor.

Hometown: Tiburon, CA

Mayflower Chorus

The Mayflower Chorus is the performing ensemble of the Mayflower Choral Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting the educational and cultural benefits of musical performance to its members, the Marin community, and general public. The Mayflower Chorus has no formal auditions, but members must meet certain musical qualifications. Being a member of the Chorus requires regular attendance to build both shared choral experience and knowledge. We become an ensemble when you go from "I know this" to "We know this together" and from "I can do this" to "We can do this together."

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

California Redwood Chorale

California Redwood Chorale was founded in 2006 with the mission of offering excellence and joy to our audience and our singers. Our repertoire ranges from classics to contemporary. The chorale has also been dedicated to creating "Music Diplomacy" by traveling to other countries where we share our music and hearts performing Friendship Concerts with local choirs. We have performed in Hungary, Austria, Italy, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Santa Fe. Each season, CRC gives concerts in the North Bay.

Hometown: Petaluma, CA

Consort Chorale

Consort Chorale co-founded in 1994 by Bob Friestad and Allan Robert Petker, is an audition-only group of select singers from the San Francisco Bay Area who are dedicated to the choral art form. Consort singers are committed to achieving choral excellence across a broad spectrum of musical eras and styles. Every summer since 1994, the group has gathered for a solid week of rehearsals, culminating in a standing-room-only concert of choral classics from the Baroque age to the modern era. This unique 'intensive' format provides an opportunity for singers to fine tune their skills while sharing their love of choral music through the ages.

Every three years since 2008 members of Consort Chorale have joined with singers from Allan's other chorales to form the Allan Petker Chorale and go on tour in Europe and South America.

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

Threshold Choir

We are an international network of 130 choirs of primarily women's voices. In 20 of our choirs, men have joined to add their voices to the comfort we provide. In the Bay Area, there are Threshold Choirs in Santa Rosa, San Rafael, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove, Oakland, Berkeley, Davis and Sacramento.

Hometown: Inverness, CA

Cantiamo Sonoma

Cantiamo is a 22-member vocal ensemble directed by acclaimed soprano Carol Menke. The group's repertoire ranges from Medieval and Renaissance polyphony to recent work by contemporary composers. Cantiamo has performed throughout Northern California and is known for its Evensong services at local churches.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

Marin Golden Gate Barbershop Chorus

We are the longest performing male a cappella chorus in Marin County, with over 65 years of great barbershop style singing. We perform at numerous events throughout the year, including our sellout annual show (typically at the Marin Civic Center's Showcase Theater), the Marin County Fair around Independence Day, San Rafael Pacifics home baseball games, and at traditional Holiday sing-outs in the community. As the local Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, we also participate in Far Western District and Division Conventions and Contests along with other FWD choruses. We are dedicated to good fellowship, fun, and fine choral harmony

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

West Marin Choir

Common Voice is the Community Choir of West Marin, singing uplifting group harmony songs and chants from around the world. All voices are welcome, and absolutely no music or singing experience is required. Common Voice is a nonprofit program of Sound Orchard.

Hometown: Point Reyes, CA

Marin Symphony Chorus

The 100-member Chorus of the Marin Symphony is featured yearly in the Symphony's concert programming.

The 44-member Chamber Chorus sings annual Holiday Choral Concerts in the San Rafael Mission Church. These concerts are presented on the first weekend of December and include a mix of world Holiday music, featured youth choirs, vocal soloists, Marin Symphony instrumentalists, smaller vocal ensembles, and audience-sung carols.

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

Lighthouse Singers Gospel Choir

The Lighthouse Singers is a interdenominational community-based gospel choir in Marin County, California. Directed by Dr. Steven Roberts, the choir's repertoire includes both traditional & contemporary gospel music. For over forty years the choir has excited audiences throughout the U.S.A. in both multi-faith and multi-racial church services, community service performances, inspirational gospel workshops & national gospel conventions. The Lighthouse Singers choir has been acclaimed for its beautiful harmonies, rich sound, and inspiring presence. These qualities earned the Lighthouse Singers honors for at the Gospel Academy Awards, held annually at Oakland's Paramount Theater.

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

Sonoma County Bach Choir

The mission of Sonoma Bach is to build a community of music-lovers to share the experience of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical music in Sonoma County. Sonoma Bach brings together musicians of all ages to present outstanding performances of the finest repertoire and offers a broad array of educational activities, workshops, and festivals for both amateur and professional singers and instrumentalists.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa Children’s Chorus

Fifty-five girls and boys are currently members of the Santa Rosa Children's Chorus, under the artistic direction of Carol Menke. The children are divided into three groups- Training, Intermediate and Concert. Selected by audition from all of Sonoma County, these choristers meet once a week to study and rehearse. They concentrate on the basics. . . theory, sight-reading and consummate vocal technique. The Training and Intermediate Groups receive music theory instruction under the guidance of Claire Frydenlund. The remainder of the rehearsal time is spent on vocal training and repertoire to be performed under the direction of Carol Menke. Once fundamentally prepared, they advance by audition to the Concert group, where they concertize and tour annually.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

Petaluma Chorale

The Petaluma Chorale is a mixed vocal ensemble dedicated to the art of superior choral singing, including formal, jazz, Broadway and other contemporary styles. The Petaluma Chorale presents biannual concerts in the Fall and Spring. New members are always welcome! A simple audition is required for new members (or returning members who've not sung with group in two years or more) in order to place them into the proper section within the chorus. Ability to read music is helpful but not required.

Hometown: Petaluma, CA

Marin Baroque Chamber Choir

Marin Baroque Chamber Choir and period instrument Orchestra, founded in 2012 and directed by Daniel Canosa, is a 16-voice choir based in San Anselmo, CA. We present concerts in November and March, a smaller chamber concert in February, and an opera in our outdoor theater in June. Past concerts: Jewish Music of the Baroque; Handel- Italian Journey, including Dixit Dominus; Amor Sacro, Amor Profano, works by Monteverdi; Birds of Paradise- Exotic Music of the Old & New Worlds and the Latin American Missions; A Legacy: Buxtehude - Bach. Operas: Handel's Acis & Galatea, John Blow's Venus & Adonis, and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas. We are committed to music education and working with local youth artists in our Marin Baroque Academy.

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

Dominican Chorale

The Dominican Chorale is a community choral ensemble sponsored by Dominican University of California. The Chorale is open to all interested in singing choral art music, and serves as an academic credit ensemble for university music students and other students enrolled at Dominican. The Chorale is conducted by Francisco Ortiz, Adjunct Professor of Music in the Department of Music and Performing Arts and a Dominican alumnus, with a repertoire that includes works by the classical masters, as well as more contemporary composers. Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. Two concerts, accompanied by a small professional orchestra, are performed at the end of the each semester.

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

Rock the Ages

There's the kind of rocker you sit on, traditionally on the front porch. And then there are the 30 members of a rather extraordinary choral group called Rock the Ages. Formed six years ago, Rock the Ages was inspired by a 2008 British documentary, "Young@Heart," that focused on the novelty of a New England senior citizen chorus singing contemporary rock and pop songs. Under the direction of Barry Blum, a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist, Rock the Ages has headlined at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley twice, opened for Huey Lewis and the News, and brought the house down at a recent concert of Bay Area choirs, most of them youth groups, at the Masonic in San Francisco.

Hometown: Mill Valley, CA

Marin Girls Chorus

The Marin Girls Chorus was founded by Martha Wall, in 1988, in response to a parent's request that Marin County offer something akin to the San Francisco Girls Chorus. In 1992, a Boys' Chorus was added, as well as a Junior Chorus for the youngest singers, and the name was changed to the Marin Girls and Boys Choruses. The Boys' Chorus proved difficult to support as a separate entity; so, in the fall of 1997, the name was changed once again, this time to the Marin Children's Chorus. In the fall of 2008, the chorus returned to its roots as the Marin Girls Chorus, as a treble-voice chorus that encompasses well over 100 finely trained singers in four levels.

Hometown: Multiple rehearsal sites throughout Marin, CA

River Choir

The River Choir was established by its director Sonia Tubridy. It is a small chamber choir which performs a wide variety of music ranging from Medieval to contemporary classical, with an emphasis on madrigals. Director, Sonia Tubridy studied at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is the Cofounder of the Coffee Concert music series and also directs the Russian River Children's Chorus, and is the head of the Russian River Jewish Community. Sonia works with local theaters, teaches the children's chorus at Monte Rio School and Forestville and is an accomplished accompanist for many local performers.

Hometown: Guerneville, CA

Marin Kitka Community Choir

Discover & celebrate your colorful natural voice through folk song traditions from Eastern Europe & beyond Explore regional vocal styles with attention to placement, breathing, ensemble skills, pitch, pronunciation, musical embodiment & cultural context

Enjoy making incredible harmonies in a fellowship of new friends All genders and ages welcome

Tuesday nights in easily accessible Marin location. Each series runs for approximately 8-9 weeks. Drop-ins welcome

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

Marin Harmony

An a cappella Chorus (SATB Arrangements), Specializing in Classic Rock, Doo-Wop, Pop and Jazz Standards. Formerly known as Urban Harmony, Marin Harmony Chorus has been in existence for 21 years. The group was founded by Ed Cohn of the Edlos and previously directed by Rebecca Jones. Daria has been the director for the past 7 years. A prize-winning contestant at the Marin County Fair in 2010, Marin Harmony is a fun-loving community who brings joyous entertainment to libraries, retirement communities and various events in Marin County.

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

Sing Napa Valley

The Napa Valley Choral Society (NVCS) is the umbrella organization for Sing Napa Valley! and the Napa Valley Children's Chorus. Since its inception in 1963 NVCS has performed a wide variety of choral music ranging from standard classics to contemporary works.

Sing Napa Valley! is the new name of the auditioned, intergenerational community chorus formerly called Napa Valley Chorale. Vocal artists in Sing Napa Valley! range from high school age to senior citizens. Members are accepted by audition and attend weekly rehearsals during the performance season.

Sing Napa Valley! is a vibrant presence in the Napa Valley offering talented singers the opportunity to perform great works of choral literature throughout the community.

Hometown: Napa, CA

Pacific Empire Chorus

Pacific Empire Chorus is the premier northern California women's, 4-part a cappella, award winning mid-sized chorus. PEC is a 501c(3) organization, dedicated to bringing a cappella harmony, to women of all ages throughout Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties. Come visit the Pacific Empire Chorus and experience for yourself the love of harmony, friendship and singing that we share each week.

Hometown: Petaluma, CA

Central Marin Singers

Do you love to sing while you're driving? In the shower? Then this drop-in song circle in San Anselmo is for you! Our song circle is a joyful, soulful, inclusive, non-audition, non-performative, anti-perfectionistic group that sings easy-to-learn, non-religious, community-singing songs in harmony together.

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

Ross Common Singers

Ross Commons singers is a small SATB vocal ensemble based in Marin. For over 50 years, Ross Commons has been performing throughout the Bay Area with a varied repertoire of music that spans the early 1900s through the 1980s in the styles of swing, pop, and jazz. Our four-part harmony is enhanced with choreography, costuming, and props, and always spiced up with a bit of mischief. As a self proclaimed, "eclectic" musical group, we have entertained at clubs, conventions, fairs, celebratory functions, fundraisers, private parties, and concerts. We are also regularly invited to perform for various hospitals and retirement communities as members of Bread and Roses. We sing under the direction of Denise Wharmby. Choreography is by Stephanie Romano. We are actively seeking new members.

Hometown: Ross, CA

Sonoma Valley Chorale

The Sonoma Valley Chorale has been Sonoma's own community chorus since its founding in 1973. Chorale is a glorious blend of voices of all ages from throughout the Sonoma "Valley of the Moon". Under the brilliant direction of David Irvine, this dynamic and versatile group of vocalists captivates audiences with a wonderfully diverse repertoire ranging from Bach to Bernstein.

Singers are welcome to join any or all of the Chorale's three yearly concerts without auditioning. We support a wide range of musical skills and experience levels, and aim to give opportunities to learn and teach to all. And, of course, we have a lot of fun!

Hometown: Sonoma, CA

Joyful Voices Chorus

It's so easy for *anyone* to join in and sing in the Joyful Voices Chorus community choir! We sing easy-to-learn, non-religious, uplifting songs of belonging, healing, hope, and joy at this 7-week series in San Anselmo, culminating in a community-wide Big Sing! No singing experience needed, no music to read, and SO. MUCH. FUN. Sliding scale, and if you haven't sung with Marv before, you can try the choir FREE on certain dates!

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA

Singers Marin

Singers Marin, (Choral Singers of Marin) is an association of choruses that was founded to serve the community and preserve the integrity of the choral art. Singers Marin provides singers of all ages the opportunity to experience the joy of making music together and bring that joy to the community through our outreach program and public concerts. Most importantly, we strive for the highest level of musical standards in all of our presentations.

Founded by Artistic Director, Jan Pedersen Schiff in January, 1987, Choral Singers of Marin, Inc. became a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization in July, 1988 with Wings of Song as its first ensemble. This all-female, non-auditioned chorus continues to grow in numbers and in excellence. In September of 2001, the chorus expanded to serve more women by holding rehearsals during the daytime and evenings, which also increased the number of performances it provides for the elderly audiences of Marin. The group sings a repertoire of familiar songs, including light classical, folk songs, show-tunes, and popular standards. In 1994, Wings of Song hosted the California Women's Chorus Convention. The chorus recorded its first CD, Sentimental Journey, during the summer of 1999.

Hometown: Mill Valley, CA

Marin Oratorio

Boyd Jarrell serves as music director of Marin Oratorio and Director of Choral Activities at the College of Marin. Prior to assuming this post in 2004, he served San Francisco's magnificent Grace Cathedral as Cantor and Associate Choirmaster for over twenty-five years, where he trained the renowned boychoir. He is familiar to California audiences through his appearances with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the Oakland Symphony, and the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Hometown: Kentfield, CA

Redwood Chordsmen

The Redwood Chordsmen are a group of singers dedicated to spreading the love of Barbershop harmony and other acapella styles with the community and have for over 50 years. The group focuses on having the most fun while constantly improving the vocal craft. We frequently offer public performances throughout the community in support of youth, veterans, and the joy of singing. With ages ranging from 19 to 90 we encourage all who love to sing to come out and see just how fun it can be.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

Mendocino Women’s Choir

Founded in 1992 by singer/composer Margy Crowningshield, singers Cynthia Frank and Sharon Hansen, and poet Karin Faulkner, the Mendocino Women's Choir has been together for almost twenty years. We're a feminist, progressive, loving and sassy, non-audition community choir. Over the years, the size of our choir has varied from 24 to 105 singers (yikes!), and our ages have ranged from 14 to 75. We perform a variety of music, from Mozart to Bartok, Bulgarian folk music to America doo-wop, Holly Near to Gregorian chant, and PDQ Bach to gospel.

Hometown: Fort Bragg, CA

‘Til Dawn

Based in San Rafael, CA, 'Til Dawn is a 15 piece a cappella group made up of teens from different high schools around Marin. We perform at a variety of concerts, festivals, elementary schools, public events, private parties, and business functions in and around the bay area. We love to sing, performing on average 40-50 times a year.

Hometown: San Rafael, CA

Napa Valley Harmonizers

The Harmonizers all Men's Chorus has entertained Napans for almost 60 years. We're a branch of the international Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). We strive to help each other become better musicians, friends to each other, do good in the community...and have fun!

We're proud to continue the tradition of Barbershop four-part harmony. Much of our repertoire is rooted in classics of past years, the "old songs" we enjoy bringing to audiences. We also perform songs by artists like Randy Newman and The Beatles.

Hometown: Napa, CA

Healdsburg Jazz: Freedom Jazz Choir

Freedom Jazz Choir program will celebrate the 125th anniversary year of Duke Ellington with a program titled Duke Ellington: 125 Years of Swing! Our performance will be featured during the Healdsburg Jazz 2024 Summer Festival on Saturday, June 22, 2024. This will be the 26th year of the festival, which will consist of 9 days of concert performances and events throughout Healdsburg. The Kristen Strom Quartet will open before the choir performs.

Hometown: Healdsburg, CA

Song of Sonoma

We are a women's four-part acappella chorus, singing in the Barbershop tradition. Just because our artform has 19th century roots, doesn't mean our music does! Our current repertoire includes jazz, Broadway show tunes, the Beatles, pop standards, the Eurythmics, and anything else that catches our director's fancy.

We put on one large show a year, compete at the regional level, and find other opportunities to sing such as caroling and for occasional paid events.

Whether you are a student, business owner, experienced diva or a grandma, there is a spot open for you in our chorus. This is the perfect opportunity to find quality 'you time' and to gain camaraderie in a group of fabulous women who love to sing.

We welcome guests every week. An exciting facet of our members: many of them are brand new to the art form we re so passionate about. So much to be proud of with an energy and joy of shared musical experience that keeps the group moving ever forward.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

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