If there’s anyone out there living in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, we’ve started a new neighborhood choir called The Valley Villagers (we’re based in Valley Village). We currently have 22 members, but would really like to boost that number.
Right now we’re all just singing for the fun of it, but we already have a mini-concert booked in August at the Studio City Library, and possibly a 4-song Halloween show at a local private school in October.
We rehearse every Saturday from 3-5 pm in Valley Village, but if we get too large, we’ll have to move to another space.
We started the company last fall and performed a holiday themed show at the first Valley Village Holiday Block Party in December, and JoAnne Worley came out and sang with us. Everyone had so much fun, we decided to start it up again this past April.
We’re currently learning 10 songs from the Broadway stage and a couple from movies.
We are NOT a 501c3 yet, and as of right now, we aren’t charging to participate, but everyone is responsible for printing their own music and buying a binder to put it in. We do intend to get our nonprofit status and eventually will charge dues like the other companies.
So, right now we’re just singing for the fun of it and if a concert opportunity comes along and we can get a majority of singers there, we’ll do it!
Please check out our website…there’s a contact form there to fill out if you’d like more information about joining us.
And please pass the message on to others you might know in the area.
http://www.vvchoir.org
Our History
Eric Andrist had always wanted to be a part of a choir, but not having the guts to audition, he never thought it would come to be. For several years, he also wanted to plan a block party at Christmas-time for his neighborhood, but something always got in the way.
Then in the summer of 2018, it looked like the block party might actually happen. So he combined that with the idea of putting together a group of people from the neighborhood to sing some Christmas carols at the party…and voila…the Valley Villagers was born. It helped that his partner, Jeff Rizzo is a musical director/conductor!
The original group of neighbors was made up of about 18-20 people. They met every Saturday between October and December and presented 10 holiday-themed songs at the block party. Actress JoAnne Worley, a friend of Jeff’s, came out to the inaugural concert and performed “We Need a Little Christmas” from the musical “Mame.”
Immediately after the performance, many of the members asked if the choir could continue on. So, in the April of 2019, they gathered once again and began rehearsing, this time a selection of songs from the Broadway stage and movies.
As of December 2019, the group has 30 members, including their musical director, Jeff Rizzo and choir director, Anthony Concepcion.
They hope to at least double that size, and involve even more people from the Los Angeles area.
We have voluntary dues of $85 per season (with 3 seasons), but we don't turn anyone away for the inability to pay. We have a 2nd tier of dues where some members pay more to cover the costs of those that can't afford to pay. We currently don't have auditions, per se, but everyone must meet with the choir director for 15 minutes for voice placement. It is his decision after that whether someone can join the choir as a singer. We meet every Saturday from 3-5 and have between 6 and 10 concert performances in a year.
We have 6 sets of portable fold-up risers that we can rent locally (you have to pick up and return), as well as a small PA sound system. Each riser can hold 6-8 singers.
Our Mission
To gather everyday normal people who just love to sing.