Young People's Chorus of NYC to Launch Summer Tour of Asia on 7/12

The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), led by its Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Núñez and accompanied by pianist Jon Holden, will leave for a month-long summer tour of Asia on July 12, its fifth trip to the Asian continent. They will give costumed and choreographed performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and five Japanese cities, including Tokyo, where YPC makes its Tokyo Philharmonic debut. In several Japanese cities YPC will sing the first performances in Japan of Samuragochi Mamoru's HIROSHIMA REQUIEM since the work's premiere in Hiroshima in 2007.

The tour begins in Hong Kong, where YPC has been invited to be the artist-in-residence at the Hong Kong International Youth and Children's Choir Festival. As the artist-in-residence, they will give two evening-long "Global Voices in America" performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Center on July 16 and 17 of a program that includes an international array of songs from China, Latin America, and the American songbook, ranging from traditional American folk hymns and Southern spirituals to inspirational music of our times and a medley from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. While in Hong Kong YPC will also give several workshops and will participate in the opening night ceremony on July 14, which will be televised throughout the country by Phoenix TV.

Moving on to Shanghai, on July 20 the young men and women of YPC will sing another evening-long program in Shanghai Concert Hall, acclaimed worldwide for its outstanding acoustics.

The YPC choristers are excited to be returning to Japan for the fourth time, where they are always inspired by the beauty of the country and the enthusiasm of the Japanese audiences. YPC first performed in Japan in 2005, when the chorus was invited to represent the USA at the Seventh World Symposium in Kyoto. Then in 2009 and 2010 Min-On Concert Association sponsored YPC in two month-long summer tours covering 30 Japanese cities. In addition to performances in Tokyo and Hiroshima, YPC will also sing in Matsue, Morioka, and the Japan Cultural Festival in Hokuto, where the chorus's final performances August 5 and 6 will be streamed on the festival's Ustream TV Channel. Proceeds from their performances in Matsue, Hiroshima, Morioka, and Tokyo will be donated to the UCCJ Tohoku Disaster Relief Center to aid victims of the 2011 tsunami. YPC visited China for the first time last year, when they were invited to represent the North American continent at the 2012 World Choral Summit in Beijing.

"Cross cultural interchange through music is a central part of the YPC's mission," said YPC Chairman Adam Chinn. "Tours like these not only expose our choristers to different worlds but we hope also inspire the children and adults alike in the countries YPC visits to see music and musical community in a new light. We cannot thank our supporters enough for making this all possible."

Throughout its month-long travels in Asia, the YPC choristers will be wearing a touring wardrobe generously donated by The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation. YPC is grateful for this gift and for the support of the Japanese portion of this tour by Sony Life Insurance Company, Brother International, Norio Ohga Foundation, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nihon Kodo Company, Toyota North America, and Mrs. Hiroko Onoyama.

The well-traveled Young People's Chorus of New York City, founded in 1988 by its Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez on a mission of diversity and artistic excellence, performs on four continents. For 25 years this groundbreaking program has harnessed the power of music to fulfill the potential of every child, while dramatically heightening an awareness of the unlimited potential of young people to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry. Each year more than 1,200 children ages 7 to 18 benefit musically, academically, and socially through YPC's after-school program, its satellite program in New York City public schools, national affiliates, and new after-school community program in New York City's Washington Heights. YPC collaborates with many of the most important composers, artists, and cultural institutions of our time and is in residence at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

YPC Asia Tour 2013 Concert Schedule

Photo by: Virginie Meigne