The Bermuda School for the Performing Arts is looking for young boys with a passion for singing to make up a new all-boys' choir taught by an internationally renowned conductor.

CedarBridge Academy music teacher Granville M. Oldham Jr. is recruiting boys for the CedarBridge Boys' Choir the singers don't have to attend the school.

Mr. Oldham said the Bermuda School for the Performing Arts, which sponsors the choir, has been working hard to attract boys to the choir, and there are still around ten spaces left.

"Culturally, I think there is a stigma about what a boys' choir is about, among adults," said Mr. Oldham. "I know my stepfather didn't understand that this is how a boy's voice is until they turn to a young man. A boy's vocal folds are a certain length. When they reach puberty their larynx gets larger and their vocal folds get thicker and shorter. After their voice changes, they develop their adult tenor or base voice."

He said he has heard a lot of beautiful voices in Bermuda, which he attributed to less exposure to artificial growth hormones in meat and milk than in the United States, where he is from.

"Here, there are a lot of young 14-year-olds who have incredible voices," he said. "It seems like in America, every year, kids are hitting puberty younger and younger, which some people think is due to exposure to artificial growth hormones."

Mr. Oldham began conducting at the age of 11.

"We were living in Junction City, Kansas," he said. "I grew up in a military family. We were stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas. We went to the Ward Chapel AME Church. Saturdays were choir rehearsals."

Although Mr. Oldham was considered too young to take part, he would go with his older sister, Ramona, to choir rehearsals at the Ward Chapel.

"One day a teacher at church said the current conductor is going away to college, and was anyone interested in conducting," said Mr. Oldham. "My left hand automatically rose in the air and I am right handed. Everyone looked over and laughed because I was only 11. The teacher said, 'come over here and try'. And I did. I went from there."

He was also called to become a music teacher at a young age.

"I always wanted to be a teacher since fifth grade," said Mr. Oldham. "I was inspired by my teacher, Mr. Canniff I didn't know his first name. He loved his job. It dawned on me one day, 'oh, they pay him to do this job'. I could actually get paid to do something that I loved."

He has a Masters degree in special education from University of the Pacific School of Education, and spent two years working with seriously emotionally disturbed young people.

"I felt led to do that," he said. "I loved it. I didn't think I would go back to music, but the door opened up again. Working in special education really helped me to become the focused, dedicated teacher that I am. Before, I wanted to be a great conductor. And then I wanted to be a great teacher."

Mr. Oldham went on to achieve a second Masters degree in music conducting from San Jose State University in California. He is now conductor and vocal coach at the School for the Performing Arts, which has been operating locally since 2007. He is also the author of 'The Choral Cookbook' and 'In Quest of Answers. Vol II'.

He said the two combined degrees have made him didactic in his approach to teaching.

He is able to assess his students' deficits, strengths and their different modalities of learning.

"I don't teach my subject matter, I teach the student," he said. "I work towards their particular personality and way of learning."

He said the only time he has challenges reaching a student, is when they have been taught that they can't sing.

"I have had a 97 percent success rate," he said. "It is all in the brain. First of all they have to want to sing. People often think it is based on talent, but I would prefer to teach someone with drive and intellect."

The new CedarBridge Boys' Choir is looking for boys aged seven to 14 years old, whose voices have not yet changed.

"We want them to still have their high voices," said Mr. Oldham. "A lot of people don't understand that that is their real voice until they go through puberty. It is not that they have girl voices. That is the child's voice. It is special. When you get a bunch of boys' voices together, you can create some of the most powerful, strong magic that exists. The sound has the ability to reach many people. I tell my students, 'I invest in you; you invest in the audience; and the audience will go away better people afterward if we've done our jobs correctly'."

As an adult, Mr. Oldham's conducting career has taken him around the world from Australia's Sydney Opera House to New York's Carnegie Hall to concert halls in London, Honolulu and Shanghai.

He is an advisor to World Projects International Production Music Tours, a group that organises music tours around the world with the goal of education. He will be taking another CedarBridge singing group, the CedarBridge Chamber Singers, to New York City to the World Projects New York Choral Festival at Lincoln Center in March 2010.

"It is a wonderful thing to be performing in one of the major concert halls in the world instead of just going there to see someone else," said Mr. Oldham. "A lot of choirs go to see the festival, but to actually go and sing for 20 minutes will be awesome for them."

He said the Bermuda School for the Performing Arts has been phenomenal in their financial support, for local programmes such as another CedarBridge choir, the Ona Voice Choir for girls aged ten to 18.

Boys who want to join the CedarBridge Academy Boys' Choir can audition this Saturday in the choir room at CedarBridge Academy from 3 to 5 p.m. Girls wishing to audition for the Ona Voce Choir can come along at the same time. If this time is inconvenient, parents can make an appointment up until the day rehearsals start September 23 for boys and September 24 for girls, both at 4.30 p.m.

"At the audition, we find out how articulate they are, and how enthusiastic they are," said Mr. Oldham. "It is about their desire to sing and their personality. Then I play a note and have them sing it back to me. Then I have them sing the last portion of 'Happy Birthday'. It is very short and non-threatening."

People interested in auditioning can call The Bermuda School for the Performing Arts on 704-1460, or Mr. Oldham on 333-3409.