Eileen Boyd considered herself a singer from an early age and always dreamt of a professional career. The Sacramento native ended up studying music in college and then decided to get a teaching credential to support herself while chasing her dreams.
“I ended up teaching for 40 years, and I kept my hand in the music world. I acted in a lot of shows in LA and Sacramento,” Boyd said. “I taught both regular grades kindergarten through sixth grade and elementary music for several years, but then they started cutting [the music program] in our district, and then I went back into the classroom.”
Boyd said that she’s a “great believer” in children taking part in the arts and seeing live performances to connect younger generations to music. Now retired, she kept her teaching credential so she could continue educating students after she moved to Santa Maria to be closer to her family.
“I really missed conducting kids’ choirs. I decided to see if there was one in town I could help with, and I couldn’t really find anything,” Boyd said. “I went to the school district office and I asked for their music department because I came from a district that had one. I asked if the individual schools had a music program and they shook their heads and said, ‘Most of them don’t.’”
With this information, Boyd decided to launch Young Voices of Santa Maria, a children’s choir program for 8- to 18-year-olds where they can learn how to read music, sing with other kids their age, and perform at local events, she said. The program launched on Aug. 21 with its first choir practice at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, and Boyd is hoping to recruit more children to join.
“It’s a no-audition choir; once I let people in I will listen to them individually before placing them into the right sections, no one is turned away. There is no audition; any child in those age ranges who wants to be in the choir can join,” she said. “I’m hoping to get a minimum of 30 kids and there will be no max. Right now only a handful of kids have registered.”
Eventually, Boyd said she wants enough children to join so she can divide the students into two groups by age, with 8-year-olds to 12-year-olds in one group and 13- to 18-year-olds in the other, and register Young Voices as an official nonprofit organization to get more funding for the choir.
“A $10 per month fee is asked for the help of purchasing sheet music to start with and then eventually if we get enough money I want to hire an accompanist, but for now I will direct from the piano,” she said. “I’m going to be buying all of the sheet music to start with, and if we get enough money or get some grants I will reimburse myself, but I will not be taking a salary as the director.”
While Boyd said that she’s been overwhelmed with recruitment, she’s happy to be starting a children’s choir in Santa Maria.
“I’ve been kind of professionally starved for doing music and making music, so I’m excited about it,” she said.
Young Voices of Santa Maria’s debut performance will be with Coastal Voices, the adult choir, for a Thank You Soldiers Veterans Day Concert. If enough children sign up, Boyd said she wants to do a holiday concert in December, a concert in the spring, and she’s hoping they’ll be asked to sing at other local events.
“I think it’s important for people to know that it will be bilingual, multicultural music whenever possible because I know we have a Spanish-speaking population here. I used to teach Spanish many years ago too,” Boyd said. “I wanted everyone in town to feel welcome; I don’t want it to feel like it’s just for certain kids.”
Choir rehearsals will take place on Mondays from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Gloria Dei Church—4380 Orcutt Road. Visit youngvoicesofsantamaria.com or email youngvoicesofsantamaria@gmail.com for more information.
Highlight
• The annual Shoes for Students Golf Tournament and Dinner fundraiser event will be held Sept. 10, with all proceeds going to support children in the Santa Maria Valley who need new clothes and shoes. Shoes for Students, a local nonprofit organization, has hosted an annual golf tournament for nearly 25 years. The tournament is held at the Santa Maria Country Club and is open to all levels of golfers. Teams or individuals can register. Registration is $175 per golfer or $700 per team and includes a cart, range balls, lunch, goodie bag, logo hat, logo golf balls, snacks and beverages, and dinner after the tournament. Register for the tournament or purchase dinner tickets at shoesforstudents.com.
Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor can be reached at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 31 – Sep 10, 2023.