Photo Flash: Norm Lewis, Douglas Hodge, Meredith Monk and More in Concert with Young People's Chorus of NYC

At 7 p.m. on Monday evening, March 2, with every seat in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater occupied, almost 400 chorus members from 7 to 18 from the Young People's Chorus of New York City streamed on stage and filled the balcony boxes above. Joining them was the evening's host, Broadway star Norm Lewis, and in the pit YPC Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez gave the downbeat to The New York Pops to get YPC's gala evening off to an exciting start by singing...and dancing..."Magic To Do" from Pippin. Scroll down for photos from the concert!

But that was just the beginning. The concert continued with a program that ran the gamut from Mozart's "Papageno-Pagagena" duet to "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," along with guest stars-Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge from La Cage aux Folles and the amazing Allison Blackwell, currently in the cast of The Lion King, not to mention the iconic American composer Meredith Monk, currently celebrating her 50th anniversary--joining the chorus in song.

In a special highlight of the evening, the full cast of YPC sang a new arrangement of "One World," by the evening's artistic honoree, composer, pianist, and educator Seymour Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein has recently become a celebrity at 87, with a new documentary about him directed by Ethan Hawke being released in theaters next week.

The concert was followed by a reception in the beautiful ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental, where the honorees of the evening were feted for their support and passion for YPC. Receiving the Corporate Award was Thomas Wagner, Co-Founder and Managing Member of Knighthead Capital Management, and Seymour Bernstein was presented with YPC's Artistic Award.

Over the past 27 years, the Young People's Chorus of New York City, founded 1988 by MacArthur "genius" Fellow Francisco J. Núñez, has changed the paradigm of a children's chorus, dramatically heightening an awareness of the unlimited potential of a young choir to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry and establishing the youth chorus as a significant and often untapped instrument for making music. In residence at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, YPC has become one of today's most acclaimed and influential youth choruses, invigorating the repertoire for youth choirs with more than 80 commissions; collaborating with many of the world's most highly regarded composers, performers, and cultural institutions; and accepting invitations from presenters on four continents. In 2011 YPC received the nation's highest honor for youth programs, a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Berger