I probably should elaborate on my 5 Star review of the National Children's Chorus. I am a graduate of one of the nation's foremost boarding high schools for the performing arts. I was only interested in the highest quality program for my daughter. She brought to the NCC her experience in the ACDA Children's National Honor Choir, SWACDA (seven state) All Regional Honor Choir, and three All-State level choirs. I had been following NCC for awhile, but they were primarily located in New York City, Los Angeles, or Washington D.C. Then in 2022, I saw that NCC had opened up auditions to those who did not live near the chapter cities. After her audition, my daughter was placed in the Scholars. Although it was not required, I flew her out to Washington, D.C., NYC, and LA to perform at concerts. All were memorable, especially Carnegie Hall in NYC. I absolutely loved the online conservatory. My daughter studied Kodaly and music theory each week, as well as a conductor coaching on the music to be performed. The online teachers included elements of history, social studies, foreign language, as well as covering technical aspects of the music. It was great fun to listen to along with my daughter! During my parent interview, I had talked about how it was very important to me that my daughter should experience an international choir tour. We were not disappointed. The 2023 summer tour included Edinburgh, Scotland, Cardiff, Wales, and London, where at Abbey Road Studios the NCC recorded "Illumine" their holiday album which is now available to stream. There was a moment in Wales where the Scholars (my daughter's assigned chorus and also the most advanced group in the NCC) performed "Glow" by Eric Whitacre. The Welsh Men's choir that NCC was performing with gave our Scholars a standing ovation, and I cried. My daughter told me she will remember her experience in the National Children's Chorus for the rest of her life. She is so very happy she auditioned and joined. Also, I want to add how very impressed I was with the Junior Division of NCC. Even the five year olds, the smallest singers, you can understand every word they sing. It is amazing! The quality of vocal instruction is amazing! read more

My child has been in the NCC LA for four years, and we're extremely pleased with our experience. The quality of the instruction is very high, with an emphasis on technique, challenging repertoire, and artistic professionalism. The faculty and staff are simply excellent, and their passion for music and music education is real. The monthly tuition works out to be less than $20 per hour (if you count approximately 10 hours per month, not including performances), which is well worth it to participate in an organization of this caliber, in my opinion. And they do provide some tuition assistance and scholarships as well. I remember being a bit skeptical about the money part when we first signed up, but my fears were quickly alleviated a few months later when I saw my then 5 year old randomly pick up a church hymnal and start working out (correctly) the rhythms of a song. I mean, if my head had turned any faster it would have snapped off! At the end of the day, the proof is in the music. If you attend one of the NCC's bi-annual showcases, you will be blown away at the progression of the students across the age groups. read more

I've been in the National Children's Chorus for almost nine years and I have such great things to say about it. I came in to the NCC as a seven year old who could somewhat produce a sound, but over my nine years I've had such an amazing training and I am now in the Scholars Chamber Ensemble and studying voice with a professor at UCLA. The music theory classes are taught very well ,and the teachers really care about and are willing to help if you don't understand a concept. Not only do they teach you about singing, but they teach you to appreciate the music. The staff and other members are like my second family and they are all so caring and supportive of me ,as I am of them. I am so honored to be a part of NCC and I highly recommend this program ! read more

Over the past couple years, I've watched the National Children's Chorus grow from a small school-affiliated group to a nationally-recognized organization as they expanded to include a New York branch. I've seen every New York concert since and am consistently awed by the incredible talent that comes from such young performers. In addition, they all seem to be having such fun at the same time! I'm sure much credit there must go to those who run the program - I've been involved in youth organizations in my past and so often the spirit of fun is lost - not with these guys! I've only been able to come to the New York performances thus far but after reading the program I'd LOVE to come see something in LA. I'd recommend seeing them on any coast if you have the opportunity. read more

This place is so unprofessional. Our bad experience happened in NYC but sounds very similar to the other bad review on here. Our daughter auditioned and was accepted and even offered a spot in a slightly more advanced group. The whole time she was auditioning my husband was texting me that it was a sales pitch...all about money and costume sizes as if everyone who's willing pay their prices will be accepted. The audition lasted all of thirty seconds he said and she nailed it (she has a private vocal coach and has excellent natural talent and technique). The pianist even said she did it perfectly. She was offered a spot and when we were told all the add on costs and how little they actually perform we told them we were turning it down unless they would consider some kind of scholarship. They told us they would let us know and get back to us. At this point, I assumed it was over and would never have bothered to write a negative review. Today (a couple months after she was accepted) we received an email turning her down, criticizing her audition and offering a few tips to improve for next year's audition. They did offer to waive the cost of the audition. Update: After some back and forth, NCC did work hard to get me on the phone to clear up the misunderstanding. They did admit that we received the email in error and apologized for it. They also said they will be looking into their audition procedures and the form emails they send out. I felt like they seemed to be genuinely sorry for what happened and decided to update my review to reflect that. read more

I am the other parent the Kristi M is referring to in her review. I did reach out to her after reading her review as it was nearly identical to what happened to us. After my daughter receiving a congratulatory email on passing her vocal audition, nearly 2 months later I've received a form letter saying that she did not. The same form letter of which Kristi M speaks. The letter is as follows: Based on " daughter's name " audition, the NCC is not able to move forward with the enrollment process at this time. For students wishing to try out again, we are happy to rebook him or her at our next audition date free of charge, and will suggest that "daughter's name" spends the next few months working on head tone placement, breathing and pitch matching with a private voice instructor. We thank you once again for your interest in the NCC. I, too, obviously "failed" the parent interview. Apparently parents who question the placement of their child or ask deeper questions about the NCC are not welcome. Christina D (Business Manger per Yelp, Executive Director per NCC website) certainly seems quick to respond to any negative feedback on Yelp but can not seem to reply to parents who have contacted her directly. Rudolph N and Nick N are most unprofessional as demonstrated by their unwillingness to return phone calls nor emails. Word does get around, parents are friends and do talk amongst themselves, this type of unprofessionalism, will come back to bite them. read more

My daughter just joined this Fall as 5 year old. She likes going to chorus and she is looking up to older kids who can sing really well. She did very well for the winter showcase, even though she wished her uniform was "pink". I hope she will continue to evolve through NCC. read more

Over the years, I have had the great pleasure of being an audience member at many performances of the National Children's Chorus at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The joy of the students and everyone in the concerts is truly remarkable, and the experience is unforgettable. This is definitely an amazing organization, and I would recommend that everyone within driving distance of Santa Monica go hear them sing! read more

ck b. obviously had a bad experience. It is not an organization for every one but if you have a child that is serious about music and willing to work hard this is the place for you. My son has been with the chorus for 7 years, since he was in second grade and the musical experience that he has received has been phenomenal. If you are interested in dabbling in choral singing the younger ensembles are a great place to start but the upper divisions are really for kids who are serious. NCC aims to turn your child into a competent professional musician. Not all kids are up to that challenge. I am not saying that it is not fun, my kid would not have gone back year after year if he were not having fun but it is rigorous and I suspect that it is much more fun for children who love it and are looking for more of a challenge. The repertoire is difficult and requires a lot from both the conductors and the kids. I am often amazed that they take on such challenging works but even more amazed that they pull it off time and time again. As far as the folks in charge "advancing their careers", all I have to say is that their career advancement has benefited the kids, providing them with opportunities that few kids get in professional venues and settings from recording opportunities and local opera and working with the Master Chorale. For kids who love to sing, I mean really sing this is the best musical education I could imagine. I will never forget, driving a carpool from choir one Sunday afternoon and stopping at Whole Foods to get snacks and the four kids ages in the car pool, ages 10 to 12 started loudly, happily and beautifully singing one of the arias from "The Messiah" right there in the parking lot. Just for fun, just for the joy of it. It is not inexpensive and they could do a better job of including more things in the tuition so that you don't end up paying for extra things. We often do feel like we are being nicked and dimed to death but when add up the total costs including all of the extras and compare them swim team or hockey or dance classes it is about the same cost and when you figure out the cost per hour it is a bargain compared other activities read more

I personally have known the work of Luke McEndarfer and Dr. Pamela Blackstone for years, and they are nothing but consummate professionals. The reason they are so successful and have so many students is because of their unique talent in engaging young artists to develop their potential. The comment below by ck b is nothing more than defamation of character. This review sites no specific examples as to why the experience was so bad, but tries to insinuate that the esteemed staff of the National Children's Chorus holds less than stellar moral character. Yelp should remove this awful post. It is not helpful to users and speaks very badly of good people. read more

This is an update from 5 months ago. NCC is still going strong. They transitioned their practice site to the UCLA Department of Music. The Winter Concert was excellent, just as we have come to expect from this group - beautiful music arising from various cultures and artistic styles. This children are already busy preparing for their next show. My older son could not wait to show me his sheet music when he got home from his last practice. Luke McEndarfer and Pamela Blackstone have certainly done something right in order to inspire such passion in these children. read more

The NCC's concert series in Los Angeles is truly marvelous. I have rarely seen children as talented,motivated, and driven. Having known many happy parents associated with the program, I would definitely recommend the chorus to any child who loves music, and who loves to sing. There really is nothing quite like it out there. Between the conducting classes, composition instruction, private voice lessons, and music theory workshops, the NCC is building solid young musicians. Now that the public schools can not longer offer any sort of arts programs, comes the NCC to the rescue providing this incredible resource for our children in a kind and loving, yet serious, learning environment. read more

Our daughter has been very happy w the national children's chorus so far after one yr in the minuet lvl. The students are from all over the city and many come from CT and NJ for the opportunity to work with experienced, talented musicians and teachers. Of course this comes at a cost but unless there is institutional-level support (like the Met children's choir which is free but with few seats), it falls to parents to be supportive enough to keep the engines running. I highly recommend NCC in particular for children who are just starting out but have shown interest and raw talent--auditions are much more difficult in the upper levels. For this reason I recommend joining the program early to allow them to grow into more complex pieces. read more

Please do not sign up our child for nationals children's chorus. i am attending and this place and this is the only time i wish i had a bad voice. save your money and you child's sunday. do not sign them up and take my word. read more

PARENTS BEWARE! This is an aggressive program that is aimed at helping the conductors advance their careers, and not concerned with the children they're teaching or the joy that accompanies artistic expression. The divas running this operation charge a lot of money, and on top of that, there are additional hidden costs. They are inauthentic in their interactions with the children, either being super fake nice or overly stern. Definitely a group to avoid. read more

One of my nieces belongs to the Boston Children's Chorus, but I wish she could be at the NCC. If only the NCC could open in Boston as well! Having lived in New York for the past 8 years, I've had the pleasure of attending many performances at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall (they sang with the NYC Master Chorale with orchestra at Alice Tully Hall last year). At one of the concerts, I heard that the group only had 4 singers at its first rehearsal in 2012, so it is so impressive that they have come so far in such a short amount of time (they now total more than 300 singers in 7 different ensembles from age 5 through high school). Though I'm not a musician, my cousin whose daughter is in the BCC has checked out the NCC during her visits and observed them in rehearsal... she has told me that the enthusiasm you see on stage with the NCC is real, and a reflection of the joy the students experience each week in practice. In the Senior Division, they get private voice lessons, musicianship training, conducting lessons, and participate in intentional tours around the world. Was just checking out their latest pictures on Facebook from their Italy tour -- unbelievable! read more

This choir has taught me everything about professionalism, performance, and work ethic that every aspiring singer or youth must have in order to succeed in any job (and in general, life). Through the national children's chorus, I have been blessed with being provided opportunities that otherwise would never have been available to me like singing in the LA opera and for the Jeoffry Ballet in Nutcracker. This choir may be strenuous for those who aren't passionate about music, but I believe I would never have excelled the way I have without putting in the hours that was demanded of me; also, my interest in other productions have conflicted with their schedule and they have been more than generous in working with me in order to work around my conflicts. I have found this choir to be one of the best, and most beneficial, choices I have made in my life. read more

My son, Noah, has been a member of the National Children's Chorus since 2009. The National Children's Chorus provides professional level vocal training from its dedicated and talented instructors for children ages 5 through 17. Not only does the National Children's Chorus provide a high standard of vocal training, it also includes music theory instruction, stage presentation, private voice lessons, master classes, and group and solo performance opportunities as part of the tuition package. The directors meet with parents to discuss all financial aspects of the program, and scholarships are provided for students in need of assistance. Most importantly, the National Children's Chorus has nurtured Noah's love for music through personal and professional connections and enabled his artistic creativity to blossom. I highly recommend the National Children's Chorus for serious music students without reservation. read more

The other review couldn't be further from the truth. If your child is serious about singing (or seriously wants to know more about singing, music, music theory and composition) as my child did/does, then I highly recommend working with this group. My daughter has had opportunities that never would have come her way without the help of NCC--auditioning and performing with the LA Opera, performing with the LA Philharmonic at the Shrine, taking a high school intensive class for opera singers with the Metropolitan Opera, and performing at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica and at St. Paul's in New York. The group is friendly, knowledgable, professional, and understanding. Their productions are first rate with an excellent and varied repertoire. I couldn't recommend them more highly. read more

I'm very disappointed. It doesn't worth to sign such tricky contract. Your child will see teachers only 2 hours a week. Even if something happened or your child simply doesn't want to go any more, they will charge you for 12 months. Think twice!! People, who work there very tough. I asked to mail to my address prepaid DVD with concert, because I was out of the city, they couldn't even do this. read more

I attended the NCC's full season of concerts last year in NY, and I must say I was so impressed with the talent and professionalism of the young performers and the entire organization. The music was diverse, well rehearsed and beautifully performed in St. Paul's Cathedral near Columbus Circle. The kids were extremely polished, professional and were obviously proud of what they had accomplished. I would recommend this group to anyone wanting an inspiring experience in the NYC arts scene, as I believe it rivals anything else I've seen professionally here in the city. Congrats on all your accomplishments! I'm looking foward to the next season of music! read more