Find Your Voice with Nova
Nova is an award-winning, citywide choir for 6th to 12th grade students from any Oakland school. This tuition-free choir is designed for vocalists ready to take on the challenge of advanced choral singing in multiple languages and styles.
Nova singers rehearse and perform an engaging, inspiring, and diverse repertoire of music from around the world. Choir members have the opportunity to perform in local choral festivals, sing alongside Cantare adult choirs, receive professional voice coaching, participate in team-building activities, and receive one-on-one mentoring from a Cantare community member.
Rehearsals are held Tuesday afternoons and one Sunday afternoon a month. Consistent attendance, a requirement of participation, helps encourage responsibility, discipline, and commitment. Auditions are still available for the 2023-24 school year.
Cantare has taught me the importance of family outside of the traditional sense. It taught me what to look for in a group of friends. It taught me what to look for in a support system, it taught me how I wanted to present myself to the world.
–Connie Tran, Nova Alumni
Nova Performance & Travel
Each year, Nova students perform alongside Cantare's adult choirs and a full professional orchestra, in addition to performing on their own throughout the community.
Team Building
Nova students develop teamwork and leadership skills through activities designed to build community and encourage thoughtfulness and empathy for one another, on and off the stage. In 2019, Nova members created their own vision statement.
Choir is important to me because it spreads a positive message to the community. The songs we sing ask for peace, love, and awareness. Also, they express hope for future improvements despite the issues they raise. To be a part of a group that spreads these ideas is a great honor
–Shizhou Chen, Nova Alum, University of Pennsylvania graduate
Mentoring Program
One hundred percent of Nova graduates complete high school and 98% enroll in college & vocational programs. Many are first-generation college students. Nova high school students can choose to be paired with mentors from the Cantare community who support them beyond choir time. The Cantare Mentoring Program helps nurture each student as they transition from middle school to high school, graduation, and beyond. The program serves to empower our students to be confident, curious, involved, and informed members of our community.
SPOTLIGHT
Nova Takes Anaheim
Nova went on tour for the first time since 2019 this year. They visited CalPoly Pomona, taking a tour and attending a music class; performed at the Anaheim Heritage Music Festival; and visited Disneyland. At the Music Festival, they won the Gold Award for choirs, and senior Nai Trawick won the Maestro award for best vocalist at the Festival! We're so proud!
