FAQ - American Young Voices

A comprehensive list of questions and the answers from the American Young Voices team

American Young Voices is an inclusive educational program designed to use music to develop 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity, mindfulness, and innovation. We provide extensive support materials and resources for teachers and a multi-faceted experience for children that encourages a life-long love of music.

American Young Voices (AYV) is a performing arts education program designed to supplement your existing music curriculum for grades 2-8. Over the course of the school year, teachers prepare our music in their classes for several months before students excitedly come together in a massive chorus concert at their local arena. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event for all involved! Students are the stars of the show, and will perform with thousands of other students for a massive audience made up of their families, friends, and school communities.

AYV unifies children from across the region, boosts their confidence, and provides lifelong memories for them and their families – not to mention, singing with thousands of others is a lot of fun! Also, the AYV experience provides opportunities for community building and emotional connections among children of various ages, races, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Repertoire is available to registered teachers, and includes a variety of music from Classical to Rock to Gospel to World Music to Traditional to Pop in unison to two-part treble voicing! It’s about 45 minutes worth of music: medleys, full songs, and portions of songs with a featured soloist all specially arranged for AYV to engage and educate your students. All pieces are secular in nature, and the music often highlights themes of peace, hope, togetherness, empowerment, unity, among others, in an effort to bring all communities together through music. Some of our past pieces have included:

Fly to Paradise – Eric Whitacre
Can You Hear? – Jim Papoulis and Francisco Núñez
Adiemus – Karl Jenkins
Give Us Hope – Francisco Núñez
Maliswe – Traditional South African
You Raise Me Up – as performed by Josh Grobin
When I Grow Up – from Matilda by Tim Minchin
All You Need is Love – The Beatles
Power in Me – Rebecca Lawrence
Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Firework – Katy Perry

This year’s repertoire is equally as varied, and incredibly accessible and fun for all students!

Our 2025 concert program calendar includes:

AYV is designed like a field trip event, so there is a daytime into evening commitment for students and teachers, as we rehearse prior to the concert. The itinerary of the day is as follows:

by 2:30pm – Schools arrive to the arena
3:15pm – Rehearsal begins
5:00pm – Dinner Break (we recommend students and chaperones bring a bagged meal and drink; some concession stands will be open)
6:00pm – Return to seats; Doors open to families and guests
7:00pm – Concert starts! (Families purchase tickets to concert)
8:30pm – Approximate end time

Safety and efficiency is our priority, we recommend schools arrive to and dismiss from the arena together. Parents are encouraged to meet their performers back at school after the concert.

Click HERE for to see some videos or do an online search “American Young Voices or AYV.”

When teacher’s register for our program, they receive our comprehensive Music Book which includes vocal scores, recordings (vocal and accompaniment tracks), conducting notes, and lyric sheets. We also provide an accompanying Teacher’s Manual which includes all of the logistical information to assist you along your journey, as well as curricular materials like our teaching aims and objectives in inquiry based format, including lesson plans on the National Core Music Standards. Teachers can earn up to 10 professional development hours by participating in AYV! We offer Teachers Workshops- at no additional charge- to work with Francisco Núñez to review the AYV repertoire and get valuable teaching and rehearsal tips. Teachers also have an opportunity to connect with other participating teachers, as well as learn more about the program and culminating concert. All educators earn valuable professional development hours on the concert day as well.

The $125 program fee covers all in your group- whether you bring 5 or 505 students! It’s per group, not per student! Really! The cost also includes the AYV Music Book and Teacher’s Manual with materials containing AYV scores, vocal and accompaniment CDs, curricular resources, including lesson plans, admittance to AYV Teacher Workshops, as well as all forms and logistical information to prepare for the big day! The only other required cost to schools is transportation to/from the arena.

The amazing scale and reach of the AYV program and concert is made possible through the support of the parents, friends, and neighbors in your community. We share the cost with the community in the form of ticket sales to collectively support their child’s music education. AYV never requires schools to sell a quota of tickets, but we do count on teachers to make students’ families aware of this incredible experience. AYV makes every effort to seat guests in direct view of the student performers, so it is an enjoyable experience for all.

Students have the option to purchase an Official AYV T-shirt to wear to the concert, and includes a mini-flashlight that we encourage the kids to shine during the concert. Additional mini-flashlights are available for purchase.

We require 1 chaperone for every 10 students (excluding required staff such as nurses and one-on-one aides) to ensure the safety and supervision of all participants. Any chaperone over the 1:10 ratio is an additional charge. Chaperones and teachers sit with the students in the performing section. We encourage teachers and chaperones to learn all AYV music too!

The repertoire and overall programming of the concert is for students grades 2-8 (ages 7-13).

As many as you like! We ask that you try to make an educated guess when giving us your approximate numbers, as we fill the chorus area of the arena based on your approximate numbers.

The program fee covers all of your participating students, including adults based on our 1:10 adult to student ratio. (For example, if you bring 150 students, that includes 15 adult chaperones, the registration fee covers your entire group!)

We do sell official American Young Voices T-shirts for students, teachers, and chaperones, but they are not required for the performance. Otherwise, we request that the student performers, teachers, and chaperones wear a solid white shirt and dark bottoms for the concert to achieve our choir uniformity.

Yes! AYV has an adapted curriculum, and teachers are provided with teaching aims and objectives as well as lesson plans in inquiry-based format based on the National Core Arts Standards. That way, it can be used to provide or supplement participating schools’ music education curricula. Also, a great argument for schools to participate in AYV, is that it meets the new standards for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which clearly articulates that music should be a part of every child’s well-rounded education. Further, AYV repertoire is chosen to be engaging and accessible to students of various age groups, backgrounds, and abilities- from classrooms to general music classes to choral ensembles in grades 2 through 8. The music is specially arranged to inspire students, increase team building, build a varied skill set of listening skills, and develop an overall appreciation for the arts in a fun and positive way. The repertoire often features music of diverse cultures and languages to widen students’ appreciation of their neighboring communities as well as the world as a whole. In addition, AYV music is designed to strengthen students’ skill sets in vocal range, diction, as well as music literacy and other musical elements that enhance student learning. In addition, the social, intellectual, and personal development of a child can be enhanced by our program as well.

Use the form on our contact page to reach our American Young Voices team with any questions regarding registration, materials, and resources, as well as teaching and learning tips and ideas!