Children in Long Beach can experience a beginner-friendly melting pot of artistic workshops and lessons for a week in June through Long Beach Youth Chorus’s Summer Arts Institute.
Kids grades 2 through 12 will be introduced to ceramic arts, storytelling theater, instrumental jazz, mosaic art, electronic music, drumming, aerial acrobatics, barbershop quartet singing, dancing and of course, chorus singing.
Long Beach Youth Chorus (LBYC) recruits local organizations and professionals to teach these courses, allowing youth to connect with potential teachers if they find themselves drawn to a certain medium.
“In addition to being a weeklong preparation of singing three to four pieces of music with our kids … it’s also an immersion in a whole spectrum of the arts and trying to give kids a wide variety of experiences and learning,” Stan DeWitt, Executive Director with LBYC, told the Signal Tribune.
The LBYC teaches chorus singing throughout the year for different age groups and experience levels, but the Summer Arts Institute invites children to discover what type of art and performances speak to them.
The week of artistic immersion will end with a celebration of the progress children make during the program, as well as a recognition of the people and organizations that help teach them. The last day of the institute will be the Family Arts Festival, inviting families and friends to witness performances from this year’s graduating students.
The festival is open to the entire community and free to attend. Families and children will be able to meet local youth arts organizations such as the Jazz Angels, the Jewel Box Children’s Theater Company and the Children’s Theatre of Long Beach.
Organizations will perform at the Family Arts Festival on the main stage, and children who have gone through the Summer Arts Institute can perform solo or duo performances, showing their family and friends what they’ve learned through the week. While the festival is open to the public, only students of the program and partnered organizations can perform.
“One of the things we wanted to do was bring together organizations who serve children in the arts in the city,” DeWitt said. “The city has so many organizations that are doing great work with kids, there’s no reason for us to not celebrate that.”
The Summer Arts Institute festival will also feature food trucks, a petting zoo, arts and crafts activities, photo opportunities and resource booths.
A student from Long Beach Youth Chorus’ Summer Arts Institute performs a solo on one of the stages at the Family Arts Festival. (Courtesy of Stan DeWitt) 
An aerial acrobatics instructor teaches a student how to hang from the ropes at Long Beach Youth Chorus’ Family Arts Festival. (Courtesy of Stan DeWitt) 
A display of paintings and art creations sit on display at the Long Beach Youth Chorus’ Family Arts Festival. (Courtesy of Stan DeWitt)
Another focus of the program was accessibility, so while similar camps have fees in the thousands, children can attend the entire week for $100. Scholarships are also available for families, made possible by grants and private donors.
“I think our artistic staff, we all have a real passion for this and we know what a difference it made in our life growing up,” DeWitt said. “For kids who don’t fit in anywhere else, maybe they’re not good at sports, this is a safe space to feel safe and welcome.”
LBYC’s Summer Arts Institute will run from June 24-29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Registration is open at longbeachyouthchorus.org/sai up until the day the program begins. Families should register in advance however, if they want their child to receive a Summer Arts Institute T-shirt.
LBYC is offering a bundle for the Summer Arts Institute program and registration for the 2024-25 season for $225, a $25 discount on the annual registration fee.
