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10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive

A fun after-school vocal program for youth ages 10-16 of all skill levels,
held at Oakland's Geoffrey's Inner Circle

Wednesdays 3/19/25 - 5/21/25
4:00-6:00pm

Student Recital Saturday May 24, 2025, 4pm

Geoffrey's Inner Circle
410 14th St Oakland, CA 94612

This program is offered at no cost. A $100 nonrefundable application fee is required to ensure limited slots are available to serious participants

Application Form Available Below

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This 10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive is offered at no cost for youth participants ages 10-16 of all skill levels. Our goal is to instill and cultivate a love of the arts in each student, with a well-rounded, powerful curriculum in vocal performance. We aim to foster a community based on mutual respect and encouragement so all students can discover and explore their creativity and expression. Our powerful faculty features legendary vocalist and educator Faye Carol, who will guide students of all levels through a life-changing learning experience. Students will discover the joy of singing and explore their unique voice through solo and group expression, harmony, repertoire, improv, history, and confidence-building, culminating in a recital performance for the community. 

This program is supported by California Arts Council

Faculty & Staff

Faye Carol - Vocals, Co-Producer  

The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol is known as an icon in the Bay Area and beyond, highly regarded for her powerful voice, astonishing versatility, and gift of connecting with her audience.  Equally at home in jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, funk, latin, and hip-hop, she has developed her own authentic sound and unique delivery, delighting audiences young and old across the globe. After beginning her career with gospel music, Faye Carol made her name singing with Oakland blues and funk legend Johnny Talbot & De Thangs before forming her own trio and gaining fame in San Francisco's jazz, blues, and cabaret clubs of the 1970s and 80s. Over a 60-year career in music, this living legend has developed her own unique acoustic sound and style in Black Music - drawing from funk, blues, gospel, and straight ahead swingin' - and cultivated an audience that remains as diverse as her uplifting music. She has maintained a high level of musicianship in her groups, mentoring some of the Bay Area's brightest young talent including pianist Benny Green, bassist Marcus Shelby, and her daughter Kito Kamili. Her vocal proteges include international superstars Kehlani & Ledisi. 

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​Miss Faye has shared the stage with Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Pharaoh Sanders, Joan Baez, Billy Higgins, Albert King, Bobby Hutcherson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Buster Williams, Azar Lawrence, Houston Person, Steve Turre, Dennis Chambers, Bernard Purdie, Lenny White, Roy McCurdy, Sun Ra, Robert Randolph, Mistah F.A.B., Henry Butler, Gary Bartz, Cedar Walton, Ledisi, Philly Joe Jones, Dorothy Donegan, Pete Escovedo, David Murray, Chester Thompson, Charles Brown, and Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, among others.

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Miss Faye is also a dedicated educator and founder of School of The Getdown. She has been honored with the proclamation of a city-wide “Faye Carol Day” in the City of Berkeley and City of Oakland and inducted into the Oakland Walk of Fame, the Meridian Mississippi Walk of Fame, and the Pittsburg Entertainment and Arts Hall of Fame, and has received countless awards including the 2014 Bay Area Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero Award, Jefferson Award for Public Service, four Cabaret Gold Awards, Top Star Awards Entertainer of the Year, and a prestigious 2021 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission.

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Miss Faye has taught for over three decades at programs and schools including Jazz Camp West, Jam Camp West, East Bay Institute for Urban Arts, Berkeley Black Repertory Theater, Blues in the Schools, Oakland School for the Arts, and her own Music in the Community and School of The Getdown programs. Additionally, she has been a guest clinician at countless schools and educational programs including Young Musicians Choral Orchestra, Elevate Oakland, Jazzschool, College of Alameda, and Eastside Arts Alliance. 

Joe Warner - Accompanist, Co-Producer

Pianist Joe Warner is one of the Bay Area's brightest young talents, quickly gaining recognition for his compelling style and exceptional performances. He has performed as Pianist and Musical Director for The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol for over ten years, leads the Joe Warner Trio, and has also performed or recorded with Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Buster Williams, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, Mistah F.A.B., Houston Person, Mary Stallings, Steve Turre, Robert Randolph, Kenny Washington, Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Johnny Talbot, Stephanie Crawford, Elena Pinderhughes, Roy McCurdy, Billy Hart, Craig Handy, Eric Wyatt, Marvin 'Smitty' Smith, Lenny White, Casey Benjamin, Dennis Chambers, Bernard Purdie, The California Honeydrops, Willie Jones III, Jules Broussard, Freddie Hughes, Derick Hughes, Martin Luther, John Santos, Oakland Symphony, Rickey Woodard, John Handy, Valerie Troutt, and Denise Perrier, among others. 

Click HERE to download the application form

Submit the completed form via email to fayecarolbiz@gmail.com or via USPS to P.O. Box 3021 Berkeley, CA 94703

or complete the online form below

10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive Application Form

Thank you for your interest in enrolling in our 10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive. The program will be held on 10 consecutive Wednesdays 3/19/25-5/21/25, from 4-6pm at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle in Oakland. A free recital for the community will be held Saturday 5/24/25, 4pm at Geoffrey’s.


Please complete the form below. Parents, if you are enrolling multiple children, please submit a separate form for each child.

Parent(s), please complete the following section:

I will be paying the $100 nonrefundable application fee through
Venmo @Faye-Carol
CashApp $lovetomissfaye
Zelle to fayecarolbiz@gmail.com
Check, payable to Faye Carol, sent to P.O. Box 3021, Berkeley, CA 94703
Cash

Student, please complete the following section:

I have prior experience in:

Signed Agreement and Consent from Parent(s) and Student:

By entering my name below and submitting this form, I commit to my child attending the 10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive for the full duration of the program, 4-6pm each Wednesday. I understand that this free program is a gift, that space is limited, and that attendance and participation in each weekly class as well as the end-of-session recital is mandatory. I respect the valuable opportunity that is offered through this program. I understand that the applicant’s slot is not reserved until the nonrefundable application fee is received. I authorize School of The Getdown faculty and staff to photograph and record audio and video of my child during the 10-Week Youth Vocal Intensive and for photos and/or video to be used for archival, educational, and/or promotional purposes. I authorize School of The Getdown staff to administer ibuprofen, Benadryl, and/or Neosporin to my child as needed.

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