Choir Helps Kids Change Their Tune

Pedro Temores says he used to resolve conflict with his fists. Now, the strapping sixth-grader would rather punch a note.

“I used to get in a lot of fights,” the 11-year-old admitted. “But the singing . . . makes me more calm, [and] it gives me self-esteem and makes me feel, like, secure.”

Pedro, who lives in Santa Ana, is a member of the Paul McNeff KidSingers, a 36-member choir for children in grades three through seven.

Today, other children will have the opportunity to join this outreach program of the Fullerton-based Paul McNeff Singers, a nonprofit adult chorus founded in 1994. At 9 a.m., KidSingers will hold an audition for an expanded 50-voice choir; the audition is at Heninger Elementary School, 417 W. Walnut, Santa Ana.

McNeff, artistic director of both groups, also directs the 20-voice McNeff Singers Educational Outreach Ensemble, a spinoff group that performs at assemblies for about 25,000 grade-school children annually.

So many kids have expressed an interest in singing, McNeff said, that, in the fall, he launched KidSingers, which has performed at Bowers Kidseum in Santa Ana, the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda and as part of the Imagination Celebration.

In December, the group will begin a three-concert season, appearing with the Paul McNeff Singers at Santa Ana High School.

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KidSingers participation is open to any county youngster who makes the cut, McNeff said. (Those who come close will be encouraged to join a new training chorus.) The company’s primary mission is to serve inner-city kids, he added.

Annual tuition is $200 per student, which covers teacher and administrative costs, insurance, costumes and other expenses. Many youngsters pay in $5-a-week increments.

Financial aid is available; additional funds are earned through concerts and through an Adopt-a-KidSinger program in which individuals and businesses can provide tuition for a member.

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McNeff said the change in Pedro is typical of students in group’s inaugural season.

“We’ve seen dramatic changes in a lot of these kids,” McNeff said. “Their whole outlook, and often, their academic skills, are improved.”

Not to mention their wardrobes.

“I like the uniform,” Pedro said of the crimson sequined vest that the KidSingers wear in concert.

“On practice days, I get to wear the T-shirt with the [KidSingers] logo to school. I showed my teacher. . . . She says she feels proud of me ‘cause I’m in that group.”

For information, call (714) 525-7464.