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 10/2/24 - 12/4/24
4:00-6:00pm
Student Recital Saturday December 7, 2024, 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
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.
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.
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.
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.