These are kids who love to sing, practicing their scales and rehearsing ahead of Saturday’s concert.
The Los Robles Children’s Choir has been part of the Conejo Valley community for nearly 30 years. More than 800 children have sung with them, and the kids who started in the '90s are back now, as parents and teachers.
One of them is Emma Roche, now the choir's Artistic and Executive Director.
"It's a sense of belonging that you don't get in a lot of other places," she said of her decades-long association with the organization, which has seen her go from young student to passionate leader.
And for a small music education organization, the choir is a big hitter. They’ve gone viral on social media with one post reaching over 20 million views, and later this month, they’ll perform the National Anthem at Angel Stadium in Los Angeles. After that, the choir travels to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall.
"They're super excited about it. I'm really excited about it," remarked Roche.
This is also a valuable opportunity for this generation, who spend a lot of time on screens and whose educations were impacted by COVID, to build focus through music, said choir founder Donna Young.
"The concept of focusing in a way that is very difficult for a lot of people, not only children today, (with) very short attention spans," said Young. "Starting with the little ones, you can see that they can lock in, and it's helpful for everything they're going to do in life. Not just school, but they've learned some habits that are very beneficial [in the future]."
It’s also a way to ignite passion for the arts in young people like 13-year-old Sofia Gauthier, at a time when actors like Timothée Chalamet are casting doubt on whether young people are interested in the high arts.
"Old classics are just beautiful in my opinion. I'd hear these songs sometimes, and I wouldn't be able to put a name to it. And then I'd sing it in choir, and I'd be like, 'Oh, this is so incredible,'" she said.
"I love performing in front of audiences. Especially when we go to a retirement home, not many of these older people have so many people visiting them. So when we get to perform for them, some of them start crying — happy tears, obviously — and it just makes my heart so happy, and I just love this choir so much," she said.
Sofia’s mom, Rebecca Gauthier, says the experience has been transformative for her daughter, who, like many her age, had so much of her education moved online.
"It's an opportunity for them to connect on a level that I think is really important, especially after COVID, because there was so much disconnect," she said.
It's a pattern that Roche has noticed.
"More and more children are flocking to us, and I think their parents are seeing the value in having their children in an activity that one, is off-screen, and two, is with other children in a supportive environment," she said.
The Los Robles Children’s Choir performs on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in a celebration for America’s 250th birthday. More than 100 voices from the four choirs will showcase American composers and two new commissioned works.
The performance is at Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks at 1 p.m.
