There are no auditions. If you don't know how to sing, you will learn," said Kirsten Echegoyen, who founded Sing for Joy, a choral group that includes homeschooled students age 8 and older from Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

The group meets for two sessions each school year. Rehearsals are held at Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson from September through December, culminating in a December concert. The first rehearsal of 2026 was held on Jan. 14. Rehearsals will continue on Wednesdays in preparation for a concert at the church in April.

While registration for this session is closed, interested youngsters will be able to register for the fall season in September.

Sing for Joy concerts feature sacred music with piano accompaniment. "I try to do a variety - some is more classical and some is more on the jazzy side," noted Echegoyen. "We also do music in different languages - Latin, German, Spanish and Swahili. We do one or two foreign language pieces per concert. For the spring concert, there will be one piece in Latin and one in Swahili."

Echegoyen has both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in music education. She also taught music for seven years in a public school before she began homeschooling her children. "The choral group allows (students) to fulfill their musical part of the homeschool curriculum, plus they get the fun of doing a concert," she said.

This year's concert, which is open to the public, will be held on Thursday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary at Brick Lane Community Church, 52 S. Brick Lane, Elverson. Admission is free of charge.

Those interested in joining the choral group are asked to pay a fee. Discounts are offered to siblings, plus prospective members can give the group a try before joining.

Both boys and girls are encouraged to participate. "The majority are girls. Right now, we have 16 members, and four are boys," noted Echegoyen. "Alumni are allowed to come and participate for free."

She said that it is enjoyable to watch the children, especially new members, learn and improve as the rehearsal season progresses. "Some kids who come already are musicians, so between what I teach them and the experienced kids they become better singers and musicians," Echegoyen stated. "There is definitely musical growth."

She said that the name of the group was chosen by her father. "I have a family of musicians, and I sent an email to my brothers and parents and listed a few names, and my dad came up with 'Sing for Joy' because a lot of the songs use that exact phrase," Echegoyen said, adding that the mission statement of the group is "to glorify God through excellence in choral music."

To learn more about the group, visit http://www.singforjoychoir.org or search for "Sing for Joy" on Facebook. Those with questions may email singforjoypa@gmail.com.