Figure 1.--Here we have a mixed church choir in Alpena, I think in Michigan. At first glance I thought this was a graduation photo but apparently this how the church choir dressed in this town. Onkly the girls are wearing the mortar-board caps. The boys wear Eton collars and floppt bows, presumably red bows. It is from the the "Trinity Church Choir, Rev. Hasting , Minister and Mr. Thompson, Choir Master". The photographer is printed on the matte as "E.H. Van Stocker, The portrait is not dated, but looks to us as if it was taken in the 1910s. Put your cursor on the image for a closeup of the choristers.

There are several different types of children's choirs in the United States. One important aspect was the composition of the choirs. There are boy, girl, and mixed choirs. Most of the early choirs were boy choirs. Many churches have children's choirs. This was affected in part by the denomination. We see the first children's choirs in the early 20th century, although our information is still quite limited. This began as boy choirs, but now are mostly children's choirs. American choirs were mostly boy choirs in the 19th and early 20th century. After World War II, childrens choirs and even girl choirs began to appear. It is difficult to know which type of choir is the most common, prminarily because choirs vary so much in their organization and permanence.