Our OrGanization
Our Mission
Lumina Youth Choirs offers passionate young singers the opportunity to explore and experience the power of music in their lives.
Lumina Youth Choirs is a not-for-profit, choral arts organization for young people in Tampa Bay and the surrounding metropolitan area. Lumina offers singers grades 2 and up a fun, interactive, weekly program where practice and participation in choral music help them develop creativity, confidence, interpersonal communication, problem-solving skills, literacy, and more.
LYC is a place where children are encouraged to develop their musical talents in a community of friends that share a love of music and singing. Our diversified program of vocal arts sustains six choirs that perform locally, nationally, and internationally in choral festivals, concert, and competition settings. Our choirs include Stele (advanced sopranos and altos) and Voci de Lumina (mixed voice chamber ensemble) under the direction of Artistic Director, Deah McReynolds, Serata (intermediate to advanced tenors and basses) under the direction of Rodney Shores, Amiaza (intermediate treble voices grades 6 and up) under the direction of Judy Williams, and Aurora (Children's Choir grades 2 - 5) under the direction of Kyla Bailey, and our newest addition, Jubilare (singers with special needs ages 10 and up) also under the direction of Judy Williams. In the 2019-2020 season 180 students, representing five neighboring counties in the Tampa Bay area were enrolled in the program.
Under the musical and artistic direction of Deah McReynolds, the choristers have collaborated with renowned artists such as Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Ethan Bortnik, Doug LeBrecque, Mela Sarajane Dailey, Dr. Doreen Rao, The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, The Florida Orchestra, the Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, and the choirs of The University of South Florida and The University of Tampa. They have hosted and shared performances with The South Denmark Girl Choir, Les Voix Boréales de Laval, The Piedmont East-Bay Choirs, and the United Choirs Schools of Connecticut. Lumina Youth Choirs’ reputation extends well beyond Florida’s shores following numerous tours in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Our singers have performed coast to coast in world-class venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Segerstrom Concert Hall, Walt Disney World, the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the Florida State Capitol. Additionally, choirs from Lumina have performed solo concerts at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, and Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec.
The singers of Lumina Youth Choirs are also very present on the Tampa Bay Area arts scene thanks to their appearances on local television and radio stations and their involvement with community events and organizations such as BAKKAS, The Glazer Children’s Museum, The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.