Join Cantare’s Spring Fundraising Drive!
“I absolutely adore the community. We all are here for the purpose of singing. We all are here for the purpose of raising our voices. We’re here to love each other and show that we stand together. I think that’s so beautiful about Cantare, because we always support each other. We’re here as a community and when something goes wrong, we pick each other up and face it together.”
– Prathana Pandey, Sophomore, Nova
Share Cantare with your friends and family!
Visit our fundraiser page
Click the “Start a Fundraiser” button
Add your own choir story, your own favorite concert photos…. Tell the world what Cantare means to YOU!
Help us bring opportunities and foster social change through the beauty and power of choral music!
Help to keep our youth programs thriving and accessible!
School subsidies only cover 50% of the cost of our music education classes. Individual donors and funders allow us to provide tuition-free classes and rehearsals for our 2,500+ students.
Cantare is committed to providing equal access to high-quality music education for every Oakland school child we serve through our classes and choirs. Support our efforts in helping young singers find and share their voices through the joy of choral music!
Contact Tracy Grant at tracy@cantareconvivo.org if you have any questions! Cantare is also pleased to accept support in the form of concert or program sponsorships, stocks, planned giving, in-kind donations and volunteering.
Please walk alongside us! Every dollar when coupled with others makes a difference.
Your Effect On Our Alumni
Hessie Mae Cash Parham (she/her)
Hessie Mae sang with Lafayette Music Stars and All Stars Singers, and at Oakland School for the Arts. She now works at the Black-owned Town Fare Cafe at the Oakland Museum of California, and is a certified College Coach and Mentor for PeerForward, a college prep program serving under-resourced high school students. Hessie has two AAs from the College of Alameda, where she studied to be a social worker.
“I love the community of it all. You’re learning your part, but at the end of the day you’re a team. It’s a family no matter if you know them or not. ”
Ryan Chen (he/him)
Ryan started singing with Cantare as a kindergartener at Lincoln Elementary in Oakland’s Chinatown, and continued to sang with Lincoln Music Stars and Nova. Ryan graduated from UC Irvine in 2023. He works as a Mechanical Engineer with Northrup Grumann, while completing a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management at UCLA.
“Nova changed my life by giving me a family who I could depend on, laugh with, and most importantly they accepted me for who I am. ”
Dayana Merino (she/her)
Dayana was born and raised in West Oakland. She sang with Lafayette Music Stars, All Stars Singers, and Nova. She earned a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Counseling with specialization in K-12 Schools from SF State, and is now a school counselor in Oakland schools. Dayana sings with Cantare’s adult Chorale and serves on our Board of Directors.
“It takes a village to raise a child; they were my village. It brings me so much happiness to pay forward the support and love I received to the next generation.”