He has three choirs grouped by age and ability and his youth choir competes and wins top spots in choir festivals. Public and private schools may have very fine choruses . Although public money for the arts has dried up in many states, some public schools support music and art instruction through booster groups which raise substantial amounts of money for teachers and supplies. Homeschoolers may be very welcome in a school chorus, especially one that meets before or after school, and parent support will be most appreciated. School choruses have some advantages.
Teachers tend to be well trained and there is generally a good place to rehearse.
Larger schools with a good music staff will want to have advanced choirs so expectations of the singers will be high and auditions may be required. There are disadvantages to a school chorus, too. Public schools may hesitate to program sacred works although many chorus conductors have learned to balance programs with an interesting variety of beautiful pieces from many faiths. A similar plea could also be made to the local YMCA or Boys and Girls Club. Advantages include the low cost to participants because overhead costs will be subsidized by the umbrella organization.