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Mission: The Phoenix Boys Choir, through educating boys in the art of singing and performing the finest music in the boy choir tradition, develops character, discipline, leadership, global awareness, and a strong commitment to excellence, thereby contributing to the greater Phoenix musical life and enhancing Arizona's cultural reputation nationally and internationally.
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Founded in 1947, the Phoenix Boys Choir has programs featuring training in voice, music theory, and performance for boys age 7 to 14. Beginning with the Training Choir, boys can progress to Cadet, Town and Tour choirs, and upon graduation, participate in the Master’s Choir. Currently, there are approximately 250 young boys and men participating, making it one of the largest and most active boychoirs in the United States.
In 2003, as part of its commitment to outreach and diversity, the Phoenix Boys Choir began a Neighborhood Training Choir Program. This expansion made the Phoenix Boys Choir available to all boys, regardless of where they live or their families’ financial situation. There are currently neighborhood training choirs in Scottsdale, Peoria, Tempe, and at the Missouri choir building location.
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Accomplishments
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One of the most prestigious awards bestowed upon the Phoenix Boys Choir was received in the summer of 2007 during the European concert tour in July. The choir participated in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival at the renowned Musikverein in Vienna in which the Phoenix Boys Choir won first place.
The Choir won a 2000 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for its recording of Penderecki’s Credo with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Helmuth Rilling. Credo is one of eight compact discs featuring the Choir, the most recent being Joy To The World.
The Phoenix Boys Choir has had many accomplishments over the years, and one of the highlights was the invitation from the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) to perform at their conference in New York City and sing at Carnegie Hall. The ACDA regularly hosts national and regional conferences which include a children’s or boys’ honor choir led by a nationally known conductor. Our boys have sung with the ACDA honor choirs in Chicago, Honolulu and Los Angeles in recent years. Tour Choirs have sung in major venues in Europe, historical cathedrals around the world, and named “Cultural Ambassadors” to the European Union. In December of 2002, we were named an Honorary Phoenix Point of Pride by the Honorable Skip Rimza, Mayor of Phoenix. The Phoenix Boys Choir shares this honor only with the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
While the choir has performed with the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, Phoenix Chorale, Orpheus Chorus, collaborated with St. Mary’s Food Bank, at conventions, weddings and sports venues such as Chase Field and US Airways Center. The Choir has sung the National Anthem for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Phoenix Boys Choir made a special appearance on the “Tutenstein” float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing an original work by a former choir boy and composer, Lance Horne, entitled “The Pharaoh Strut”. While the entire Tour Choir consisting of 45 boys recorded the piece, only 15 boys were asked to perform on the float during the parade.
Last year, the choirs appeared in more than 100 performances in Arizona and across in the Midwest United States in front of approximately 50,000 people, impacted 5,400 youth and collaborated with 164 schools.
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