About PGC
Pittsburgh Girls Choir: Where girls find their voice and community.
An important goal of the Pittsburgh Girls Choir is to transform the lives of our choristers by creating communities of compassion, excellence, and mutual respect. While our focus is on teaching girls the beauty of music and performance, we also prioritize teaching self-confidence and leadership through our music education programming. One of the core values of our organization is service. We teach our choristers that performance is not about self-glorification, but rather is an act of service to audiences. An important way we embody this value is through our annual Sing for Service program every Spring. Check out the menus above and the links below for information about who we are, our programs, and how we became PGC.
Mission
The Pittsburgh Girls Choir is committed to artistic excellence and performance through an exemplary music education program, and welcomes girls of all races, ethnicities and economic backgrounds into our supportive community.
My daughters are blessed to have this opportunity to engage in a group activity that requires them to give up their own ego, and as a result, be able to produce a sound that is beautiful, clear and unified.
Vision
PGC seeks to share the transcendent beauty of girls’ voices and strives to transform the lives of choristers by creating communities of compassion, excellence, mutual respect.
People in the Hall of Witness below said it was like hearing a choir of angels singing. Thank you for touching so many people today with your music.
What are the advantages of a Girls Choir?
- Artistic, intellectual and emotional needs of girls are easier to meet
- Environment is more relaxed
- Safe and supportive community is more easily facilitated
- Leadership opportunities increase
My daughter has benefited more than words can say from this organization. Her leadership has blossomed because of the encouragement and gentle instruction of Kathryn Barnard and the other adults involved in the choir. She did not come to the choir 6 years ago with the same abilities to lead (and sing!) that she now carries with her as she graduates and moves on.
Our History
In 2005, Kathryn Barnard established the Oakland Girls Choir to provide an opportunity for girls of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to experience the joy of singing in community.
In 2009, with funding from The Buhl Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, Barnard started an outreach program in Wilkinsburg for Hosanna House in preschool students. Barnard saw a need in the Pittsburgh community for more choral music education, particularly for young people. Because of these outreach programs, and the accompanying vision, Oakland Girls Choir incorporated as Pittsburgh School for the Choral Arts (PSCA) in September of 2011.
Since its inception, PSCA has developed a comprehensive, 3 tiered, Kodaly based training choir program (Melodia, Harmonia and Via). A Women’s Choir (Women of Song) and a highly selective, chamber choir.
In fall 2015, we expanded our outreach to include Music Discovery and Choral Prep classes at Hope Academy in East Liberty.
In 2017 PSCA became the Pittsburgh Girls Choir (PGC). Those three words better reflect our mission and who we are. Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be serving a wide range of girls in Pittsburgh and “PGC” makes that clear to the choristers, their families, our funders and the communities we serve. As always, we believe in the power of every girl’s voice and the importance of our choirs to help girls’ express themselves powerfully and profoundly, as well as to become strong members of the community and to make a difference in the world.