Hundreds of elite young singers from several countries will soon converge in the East Bay, bringing centuries of musical traditions, distinctive cultural performances and world-class artistry to the Golden Gate International Choral Festival.
Hosted by the North Oakland-based Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, the festival runs July 13-18 and will feature more than 400 youth singers from countries across Europe and Asia, along with Bay Area ensembles.
Concerts and competitions will take place throughout the week, including an opening concert at 4 p.m. July 13 in the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church and a closing concert at 6 p.m. July 18 at the Oakland Inter-Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Between the opening and closing events are five free “Spotlight Concerts” from July 14 through July 17 at Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco locations.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming young singers from all across the globe to connect, celebrate and share their voices. ‘Sing the World!’ is our theme, and we’re excited for Bay Area audiences to experience the beauty and excellence that each choir brings from their corner of the world,” said Jill Dineen, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir’s executive director.
Eric Tuan, the festival’s artistic director, said audiences can expect performances that challenge preconceived notions of what a children’s choir sounds like.
“When you think of a children’s choir, you might imagine a group of cute children singing a sweet song, and this is not that,” Tuan said. “These are really elite young artists performing at a level that puts many adult choirs and really many professional choirs to shame.”
The festival brings together acclaimed youth ensembles from countries that include Georgia, the Philippines, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, Poland and Finland, each showcasing musical traditions unique to their homeland. Beyond formal performances, singers spend the week interacting, learning from one another and sharing their cultures.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the amazing cultural exchange that happens at this festival,” Tuan said. “It really opens up singers’ minds to other ways of living, and it expands their hearts, their creative brains, their souls and their artistic abilities.”
The festival, then, is an educational opportunity for the youth involved — an impactful learning experience that takes place outside of the classroom.
“It exposes students to diversity … and also reminds them that we’re all humans, we’re all sharing the same planet, we’re all sharing the same feelings and connections to art, even though our traditions may be very different,” he said.
Among the performances Tuan says he is most excited to hear are traditional folk singing from the country of Georgia, Filipino folk music performed by youth singers from the Philippines and innovative contemporary performances from Barcelona’s Veus choir. Austrian singers from the Singakademie Graz & Green Guys will also share traditional music and dance complete with accordions, lederhosen and spoons.
“It’ll all really showcasing the best of the musical traditions of their countries,” Tuan said.
The week concludes with competition winners performing works spanning folk, historical, contemporary and gospel music, along with standout young soloists. Tuan noted that one previous solo competition winner went on to perform on Broadway as Katherine Howard, the fifth of Henry VIII’s six wives in the musical “Six.”
The closing concert will culminate with all of the festival’s singers joining together in one mass choir.
“It’s an incredible spectacle, where hundreds of singers are all gathered on the stage together in that final mass choir in their own national costumes, looking so distinct, so different, yet all singing with one voice and creating one harmony out of so many different voices,” Tuan said.
Founded in 1991, the Golden Gate International Choral Festival is now in its 13th edition. Tuan, himself a former singer with the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, said participating in the festival as a young person profoundly shaped his own worldview.
“This was the first time I encountered musical cultures from around the world, right here in the Bay Area,” he said. “It really is bringing the world to the Bay Area, and I’m really grateful to be able to do that right now.”
As Tuan experienced firsthand, the festival has fostered lasting connections among choristers. Many participating choirs have returned over the years, while exchange visits have sparked friendships that continue across continents. He said he hopes audiences leave not only impressed by the musicianship but inspired by what the festival represents.
“I would love audiences to experience a sense of wonder at the incredible diversity of music in our world,” Tuan said. “I want their minds to be blown by how incredibly good these choirs are. … I’d also like them to be moved by the commonalities and the common humanity that all of these singers share.”
JL Odom is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco who can be reached at jlodomphd@gmail.com. When they’re not covering the Bay Area, they’re usually training for their next marathon.
FYI
Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church is at 1801 Lacassie Way in Walnut Creek, and the Inter-Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is at 4780 Lincoln Ave. in Oakland.
For concert schedules and tickets, visit the Golden Gate International Choral Festival website at piedmontchoirs.org/2026-golden-gate-festival.