about
how it began
Born in 2017 with a call for strangers to sing in a crowded train car, Crowdsource Choir reimagined the choral experience — making it accessible, joyful, and irresistible for all.
What started as a simple invitation became something more: a no pressure, fun way for people to sing, sharing their own unique voice in harmony with others.
Now it’s your turn.
EVERYONE BELONGS
Crowdsource Choir is a participatory singing experience where voices come together in real time — dissolving the barrier between performer and audience.
We gather to sing, to feel, and to reconnect through shared music making.
Join us in a harmonious celebration as we raise the collective vibration in communal flashes of magnificence.
Your voice belongs here.
the guide
Seattle Times - Photo Credit - Nicole Pasia
At Crowdsource Choir, you experience the dynamism and vitalizing energy of founder and director Joel DeJong, who has a rare gift for transforming crowds into choirs.
Joel is a musician, composer, and guide who exudes participation, presence, and joy. American Songwriter lauded Joel as “one of the Pacific Northwest’s most talented composers.”
With a knack for infusing fun and accessibility into his work, Joel skillfully crafts arrangements of original and popular songs for audiences of all singing levels — ensuring that everyone can join in and enjoy the music.
His role isn’t to perform for the room, but to inspire and guide what’s already in the room to come alive.
The Aim
With Crowdsource Choir, Joel aims to restore singing as a communal, cultural artform — something humans have always done together.
Participating in this spirited experience fosters a sense of cultural renewal through singing: connection without pressure, joy without performance, and belonging without prerequisites.
Every gathering is different.
Every choir is temporary.
Every sound is one of a kind.
Every moment is magic.
The heartbeat
Ken Nsimbi has become a staple at Crowdsource Choir, providing rhythm and soul that keeps the choir in time and inspirited. Born and raised in Nairobi, Ken is a first generation immigrant in the U.S. His driving force is advocating for populations whose voices have been muted by society. He is committed to promoting equality for all and the fair redistribution of power and status to marginalized populations.
Drums have been an intrinsic part of Ken’s life for decades and for countless generations before him, an ancient instrument used to celebrate all the aspects of life. Teaching African drumming is his way of inciting passion, inspiration, self-expression and healing in drummers on just about every continent on the planet.
Ken invites you to hear the pulse of Africa's soul, the hypnotic rhythms of the African drum beat with an intensity that transcends language, culture, and time. With each strike, it echoes the resilience, spirit, and vibrant traditions of a continent whose heartbeat resonates with the world.
