Conejo Valley Youth Orchestras

Founded in 1961, the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestras enroll over 250 student musicians ages 5 to 21 in its programs.  Orchestras rehearse weekly from September through June in Westlake Village. Concerts in December through June at various locations.

CVYO is home to five orchestras:

• Youth Strings - entry level, ranging from 60 to 90 players

• Flore Ensemble - extension of Youth Strings, 20 to 30 players

• Prepratory Orchestra (intermediate orchestra that also includes brass, woodwinds and percussion) and Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra (advanced). 

• Symphony Orchestra (experienced string, wind, brass and percussion players; ranges in size from 70 to 90 players)

• Virtuosi - chamber orchestra comprised primarily of principal players of the Symphony Orchestra

More information at cvyo.org.

Los Robles Children's Choir

The Los Robles Children's Choir consists of four choirs for kids ages 6 to 18: 

• The Apprentice Choir or beginners ages 5-8 with little or no prior musical experience.

• The Bel Canto Choir for ages 7-11 with little or no prior musical experience.

• The Amadeus Choir (advanced treble choir for ages 12-18 for those with previous musical experience). Audition required.

• The Camerata Youth Choir (for advanced high school singers ages 14-18). Audition required.

Rehearsals are in Westlake Village.  For more information and a schedule of upcoming performances, visit www.singingchildren.org or call 805.480.9416.

Bobbie's School of Performing Arts - Newbury Park

Bobbie's School of Performing Arts, located at 2320 Teller Road, Newbury Park, has offered quality dance instruction since 1979, including ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical and hip-hop. More information at www.bobbiesschool.com or call 805.498.7747.

Camarillo Art Center

The Camarillo Art Center is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization which promotes interest in a broad range of visual art forms. The CAC maintains an art gallery for local artists and art students to present their work to the public. CAC also develops various programs, sponsors classes and houses an art library to foster art education.

Located at 3150 Ponderosa Drive, Camarillo, the gallery is open for viewing 1-4 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Visit www.camarilloartcenter.org or call 805.445.7061 for more information.

Oakley Ballet Center / Footworks Youth Ballet - Ventura

The Oakley Ballet Center and associated Footworks Youth Ballet is located in Ventura at 1594 Saratoga Avenue.  Footworks Youth Ballet performs at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.  The Oakley Ballet Center offers classes, lessons and workshops for kids ages 2 and up as well as teens and adults. 

For more information, visit www.footworksyouthballet.org or call 805.676.1600.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is located at 4949 York Blvd in Los Angeles.

Bob Baker passed away at 90 years old on November 28, 2014 but his theater lives on, with an inventory of over 3,000 puppets! 

Visit www.bobbakermarionettetheater.com to learn more about upcoming shows.

Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory in Thousand Oaks

Founded in 1994, Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory is for the student who values creative expression and supports the powerful idea of process over performance. The students are urged to act, not perform. Here we learn how to make theatre - a group activity, a team sport, a publicly shared into worthwhile material and into the self.

Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory is constructed so that children of grades 3-12 work together, as well as with their peers, providing a unique youth theater opportunity for all. Also provided is a Junior Conservatory for grades 1 and 2 held at a separate time.

Classes are held at Conejo Elementary School.

More information at www.goldcoasttheatreconservatory.com.

Oxnard Police Activities League (PAL)

Oxnard Police Activities League (PAL) is a citywide, after-school crime prevention program that provides outreach to local youth, ages 4 to 18, to build positive relationships between youth, police officers and the community. PAL's mission is to divert youth away from gangs and other criminal activity by providing a wide variety of positive alternatives under the care and supervision of trained police officers, recreation staff and community volunteers. Membership at PAL is FREE and of all of PAL's programs are offered at low or no cost to participants.

A wide variety of programs are offered year-round, including athletics, enrichment (e.g. music, education), leadership, mentoring, community events and more. Visit www.oxnardpal.org for more information.

Studio 17 Art Classes in Newbury Park

Located in Newbury Park, Studio 17 provides art instruction to children and adults with special needs. Local artist Mary Abraham opened the studio and is an educator, artist and parent of a child with autism; she brings a special understanding of how to teach the arts to students with special needs.

For more information, visit studio17atruby.weebly.com.

For Art's Sake Studio in Westlake Village

For Art's Sake offers fine art classes exclusively in oil painting. While other methodologies dictate that students must graduate through training in other skills and mediums prior to working with oils, For Art's Sake's philosophy is that all the required skills can be effectively taught as part of the process. Students learn basic to advanced techniques in drawing, composition, color harmony and mixing theories.  Oils are a wonderfully flexible and forgiving medium for artists of any skill level to explore with unique potential for growth and advancement.

Kids and adults art classes are available as well as summer art camp, birthday parties and more. Visit www.4artsakestudio.com or call 818.707.1952 for more information. For Art's Sake is located at 31143 Via Colinas #511, Westlake Village.