East Bay Singers

Dr. Buddy James, director

Comprised of some of Cal State East Bay’s finest students, each singer must pass a vocal and musical audition to earn a roster position in The East Bay Singers. Performing widely on campus, in the community, on annual tours of California, and internationally as ambassadors of CSUEB, the East Bay Singers have been acclaimed for their sensitive and exciting performances of varied and demanding repertoire. Music critics have rated them among the finest choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area and they have performed with the San Francisco and Oakland Symphony Orchestras, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Composers Inc, and have appeared in conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and California Choral Directors Association. Recent tours have taken them to Mexico, Lithuania, Japan, and New York, including a performance at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2023. The East Bay Singers have also performed several world premieres of major choral works composed specifically for them, including P.D.Q. Bach’s Liebeslieder Polkas, which Peter Schickele “discovered” in 1979 and Libby Larsen’s If I Begin to Sing, commissioned in honor of CSUEB’s 40th Anniversary, as well as works by CSUEB faculty and student composers. The choir has been led by Buddy James since 2006.