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Zimriyah, the youth chorus at Peninsula Temple Sholom, will kick off the day’s entertainment at 11 a.m. on the main stage at Yerba Buena Gardens.

“They’re fabulous,” Elizabeth Stone, an educational consultant who works for Israel in the Gardens, said of the 18 young singers.

She was looking for a youth musical group that practiced regularly, was comfortable in front of an audience and worked with a consistent vocal coach.

“I was looking for kids who know how to perform,” Stone said. “With no dress rehearsal, it can be difficult to bring kids onto an open-air stage in front of thousands of people and have them be comfortable doing that.”

The students are in fourth, fifth and sixth grades. They meet weekly on Sunday mornings at the Burlingame synagogue and practice singing songs in Hebrew and English. Usually they perform during Shabbat and holiday services or at senior or community centers.

This year is their first appearance at Israel in the Gardens.

The youth chorus will sing three songs, and add a fourth if there is time, said Cantor Barry Reich, who directs the choir.

“I want them to realize that they can actually sing Jewish music and touch people no matter what their religion is,” Reich said.

— stacey palevsky

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