© 2025 Young Voices of Colorado. All rights reserved.
“Choirs are community building. That belief has been the heartbeat of Young Voices from the very beginning.”
We played games and sang simple songs to teach concepts like high and low, loud and soft, and the difference between speaking and singing. That was the foundation that allowed them to move into a choir.
The original idea was to keep it small in Littleton, but word spread. Soon, we were getting families from Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Parker, and elsewhere. That’s when we decided to change our name to Young Voices of Colorado to reflect the larger geographical area.
How has the program developed today?
Jena: Today, we offer students in Denver singing lessons through seven different choirs that go from the little kids all the way through high school. The first group they join after learning the fundamentals is called the Treblemakers (not “troublemakers!”). Those students are learning simple rhythms in quarter and eighth notes, solfége syllables, and putting them together in songs.
They also start performing on our concerts with the other choirs at the Newman Center, so they have to learn concert etiquette, self-regulation, and how to dress properly. All these life skills matter, and that’s when you realize you’re not just creating a choir—you’re developing whole humans in our concerts.
As they get older, they move to more advanced choirs until they join our top groups. Signature is our girls’ choir, and VoiceMale is for the boys. We often combine them depending on the performance. But the beauty of Young Voices is that we take students of any age, and we’ve also had students with a variety of disabilities. We’re an inclusive community where every child’s voice is valued and every child can learn to sing.
Our big kids help our little kids by guiding them through rehearsals, standing beside them in performances, and sometimes even holding their hands as they walk on and off stage. It’s our tradition to have every choir level sing together for the opener and finale of our concerts.
By Benjamin Tompkins | Published on June 17, 2025
Thirty-five years ago, Jena Dickey followed a calling beyond the classroom walls, believing deeply in one truth: every child has a song in them, and with the right guidance, every child can learn to sing.
Jena’s extraordinary vision to offer children in Denver singing lessons has produced Broadway stars, opera singers, and choristers with major institutions both at home and abroad. As the founder and Artistic Director of Young Voices of Colorado, her choirs have won top awards at major competitions, including 1st place solo and 2nd place a cappella group at the prestigious Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod in Wales. The students participating in her choirs have toured 13 countries on three continents, appeared at Disney World, and taken center stage at Carnegie Hall. As a leader in her field, she’s chaired the Children’s Choir Committee for the American Choral Directors Society, served on the National Children’s Choir Committee, and cofounded the Sing A Mile High International Children’s Choral Festival.
And yet, for all her soaring success, Jena still grounds her life in the families and children who’ve gathered around her. Even when a concert’s approaching, she’s never too busy to straighten a bow tie, hand out a snack, or lend a compassionate ear about a rough day at school.
For Jena Dickey, choirs have always been more than music. They are a harmony of human connection. “It’s all about building relationships,” she says. “Choirs are community building.” And that belief has been the heartbeat of Young Voices from the very beginning.
Today, Jena is passing the torch that has ignited the musical aspirations of a generation of singers throughout the Denver metro area. We sat down with her to reflect on her time at Young Voices, explore her advice for aspiring educators, and find out what the future holds as she opens a new chapter.
Tell us about your background and the beginnings of Young Voices of Colorado.
Jena: I had some musical training in violin and piano growing up, but I didn’t discover singing until I was in seventh grade. It spoke to me immediately—especially the choir. It saved me in so many ways, but I discovered along the way that I simply didn’t have the vocal training required to sing on the biggest stages.
Becoming a mother gave me a new perspective on the kids at school. I saw children who believed they couldn’t sing—who thought they weren’t talented enough. And I thought, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were all in a choir?”
That’s when I realized it would take more than offering young people in Denver vocal lessons and choral music education to give them the trajectory I never had. They needed a program offering theory, guidance, support, and an understanding of the musical world. I decided to hang up my sign, make it official, and here we are today.
What were the first few years like?
Jena: We started out as the Littleton Children’s Choir with 35 kids. Almost none of them knew how to sing or anything about music, so we focused on the basics and went from there.
We played games and sang simple songs to teach concepts like high and low, loud and soft, and the difference between speaking and singing. That was the foundation that allowed them to move into a choir.
The original idea was to keep it small in Littleton, but word spread. Soon, we were getting families from Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Parker, and elsewhere. That’s when we decided to change our name to Young Voices of Colorado to reflect the larger geographical area.
How has the program developed today?
Jena: Today, we offer students in Denver singing lessons through seven different choirs that go from the little kids all the way through high school. The first group they join after learning the fundamentals is called the Treblemakers (not “troublemakers!”). Those students are learning simple rhythms in quarter and eighth notes, solfége syllables, and putting them together in songs.
They also start performing on our concerts with the other choirs at the Newman Center, so they have to learn concert etiquette, self-regulation, and how to dress properly. All these life skills matter, and that’s when you realize you’re not just creating a choir—you’re developing whole humans in our concerts.
As they get older, they move to more advanced choirs until they join our top groups. Signature is our girls’ choir, and VoiceMale is for the boys. We often combine them depending on the performance. But the beauty of Young Voices is that we take students of any age, and we’ve also had students with a variety of disabilities. We’re an inclusive community where every child’s voice is valued and every child can learn to sing.
Our big kids help our little kids by guiding them through rehearsals, standing beside them in performances, and sometimes even holding their hands as they walk on and off stage. It’s our tradition to have every choir level sing together for the opener and finale of our concerts.
In those moments, the younger singers look up to the older ones as role models. In the end, you’re never just building up individuals, and relationships are at the center of it all.
You just got back from your final tour with Young Voices. Where did you go?
Jena: I took the top groups down to Southeast, TX, and we went from Galveston to Bolivar. That’s where I grew up, and I got to show them all the things I remembered from my childhood.
They loved it because they knew it was my background from when I was their age, and I’d never shared that with any of my YVC kids before. We got to sing for some people I hadn’t seen for 55 years since high school. It was a really wonderful bookend for my career.
That’s a wonderful story. What would you like to share with aspiring choral educators out there?
Jena: As much as giving kids in Denver singing lessons does for them, I almost think YVC does more for me. I love teaching the kids. I love to see them learn. I love it when they understand a piece of music, see how it’s put together, and the feeling we all share at the end.
You know, we’re practically born singing. By two or three, we’re already singing songs with our parents and playmates. Why not develop that?
Singing does so much for our souls. When beautiful poetry you’ve read is set to music, or you hear a song that meant so much at a special time and place in your life, it brings tears to your eyes. Then, when you join a group, you get to feel how your notes fit in with everyone else’s and how they all resonate as one. You learn to breathe together, move together, and your heart beats all line up.
It’s a marvellous thing. We tell the kids to listen louder than they sing because it’s just as important to learn how to blend as it is to make sound.
Practice hard, but also bring your music to class, open it to the right page, and pay attention for the sake of everyone else who’s trying so hard. And boys: don’t wear white socks with your tuxedo!
Congratulations on an incredible journey with Young Voices. What’s next for Jena Dickey?
Jena: Well, I have a condo in the Bahamas, so I’ll be spending a little more time in the sun! I’ll also remain on the Young Voices board to ensure there’s a smooth transition and no financial challenges. We have a wonderful new director coming in, and we want to give her the support and artistic freedom she needs to express herself and make the program her own.
Having my last concert in my hometown in Texas was such a bittersweet experience. Young Voices has been the love of my life, and I’m going to miss the wonderful families I’ve had the privilege of meeting.
All year, I knew the theme of the final performance would be love—all kinds of love. It started with a Gregorian chant, and followed up with “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles. We closed with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”
That’s really how it is, you know? Dropping everything to start a choir isn’t a common thing—maybe I’m just a little odd at times! But if you start with love, lead with love, and finish with love, everything else finds a way to work out.
© 2025 Young Voices of Colorado. All rights reserved.