About the Choir

About the Choir

Barton Hills Choir performs at the Austin City Limits Festival, Oct. 2009. Photo by Joanne Foote (click to enlarge).

The Barton Hills Choir is led by Barton Hills Elementary School music teacher and choir director Gavin Tabone. The Choir is comprised of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students from the school and accompanied by professional musicians, including guitarist Don “El Cento” Cento, bassist Jason “Mr. Boom Boom” Brint, and drummer Jake “Mr. Bubbles” Perlman.

Their repertoire spans golden oldies from the Beatles, Elvis, David Bowie, Grateful Dead and Beach Boys and numbers from Broadway musicals like “Mary Poppins” to songs from more current bands like Wilco, Muse, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, and Belle and Sebastian. They performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2009 and 2011 and appeared at the Festival on both weekends in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

They were joined by special guest Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian for their shows at the 2014 ACL Festival to perform his songs, and honored to share the stage with Belle and Sebastian for several songs during their show. In 2016 local singing sensation Nakia performed with the choir on the Austin Kiddie Limits stage. They also accompanied Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters in 2012 when he performed ‘The Wall’ at the Frank Erwin Center, and were proud to share the stage with Charlie Sexton in 2016 for a David Bowie tribute concert at the Scottish Rite theatre.

The Barton Hills Choir plays gigs at Texas venues and events like South by Southwest. Check our calendar to join us for an upcoming show, and Let The Music Take You Away!

Media coverage