Young People's Chorus of New York City Presents School Choruses Program Annual Concert

Bringing together over 1,000 young choristers from 16 schools, the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) presents its annual, year-end concert for the citywide YPC School Choruses Program, staging this year's performance at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater on Monday, May 15, at 10:45 a.m. The program is directed year-round by YPC Associate Artistic Director Elizabeth Núñez, and the upcoming concert showcases the musical growth of its participants-New York City public school students-over the course of the school year, during which YPC-trained music educators teach them how to read and write music, sing with healthy vocal technique, and perform as a group. The concert program, The Tales We Tell, celebrates the diversity of New York City with songs from the Americas, Africa, and Europe interspersed with acting, dancing, and poetry by artists from The Classical Theatre of Harlem. YPC Assistant Conductors and Conducting Fellows lead the musical performances.

Tickets priced at $10 are available tomorrow (Wednesday, May 3) at 12:00 p.m., via the Apollo Theater Box Office, web site (https://www.apollotheater.org/), or Ticketmaster (click here after noon tomorrow).

"At a time when more and more Americans are realizing the importance of an early and vigorous arts education for all schoolchildren, these young artists are eager to stand up and demonstrate the value of the arts in their lives," says YPC Founder and Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez.

The young student artists in YPC's School Choruses Program have been rehearsing the repertoire for the May 15 concert as part of their regular, in-school program activities, with each school contributing a unique musical story to The Tales We Tell. The interludes by The Classical Theatre of Harlem that complement the musical performances were choreographed by Tiffany Rae-Fisher, Artistic Director of Elise Monte Dance. The Classical Theatre of Harlem is led by Producing Artistic Director Ty Jones.

The YPC School Choruses Program, an in-school music education and performance initiative, was created by Francisco J. Núñez in 2003 to make YPC's unique music education and performance program available to more New York City students, who often perform at school and community events, as well as at major New York City venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Kaufmann Concert Hall, and now, the Apollo Theater. To view a short video about YPC's School Choruses Program, click here.

Support for this program has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, as well as the Barker Welfare Foundation, Bay & Paul Foundations, Javis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, and Lanie & Ethel Foundation.

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a world-renowned youth chorus founded in 1988 on a mission of diversity and artistic excellence by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow. While harnessing the power of music to fulfill the potential of children, the program has heightened an awareness of the ability of children to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry. YPC receives invitations to perform on four continents, has won over a dozen gold medals in international choral competitions, and has invigorated the repertoire for young voices by commissioning and premiering over 100 compositions from today's most distinguished composers. YPC is a recipient of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, America's highest honor for youth programs.

Monday, May 15, at 10:45 a.m.
Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street

Young People's Chorus of New York City
School Choruses Program participants (schools listed below)
Elizabeth Núñez, Associate Artistic Director and School Choruses Program Director
Caitlin Dobmeier, conductor
Gia Gan, conductor
Maria Peña, conductor
Amber Salladin, conductor
Sonny Willis, conductor

The Classical Theatre of Harlem
Ty Jones, Producing Artistic Director

Tiffany Rae-Fisher, choreographer

Children from the Bronx:
P.S. 304x - Throg's Neck
P.S. 69 Journey Prep - Clason Point
Bronx Charter School in the Arts - Hunts Point

Children from Brooklyn:
P.S. 268 - East Flatbush
P.S. 770 - East Flatbush)
M.S. 2 Parkside Preparatory - Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

Children from Manhattan:
P.S. 130 - Chinatown
P.S. 1 - Chinatown
P.S. 75 - West Side
Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change - Harlem
P.S./M.S. 149 - Harlem
P.S. 198 - East Side
Repertory High School for the Arts - Midtown Manhattan
Coalition School for Social Change - East Harlem

Children from Queens:
P.S. 64 - Ozone Park
P.S./I.S. 178 - Jamaica

Tickets priced at $10 are available tomorrow (Wednesday, May 3) at 12:00 p.m., via the Apollo Theater Box Office, web site (https://www.apollotheater.org/), or Ticketmaster (click here after noon tomorrow).

YPC's School Choruses Program is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, the Barker Welfare Foundation, Javis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, Bay & Paul Foundations, and Lanie and Ethel Foundation.

We would like to acknowledge major organizational support for the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) from the following corporations and organizations: The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, The Green Fund, the Howard Gilman Foundation, Goldman Sachs Gives, Jaye Penny Gould Foundation, Knighthead Capital, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Millennium Partners, Nir Braufman Foundation, Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund and Charlotte Daniels Harris Memorial Fund of The New York Community Trust, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, The Pinkerton Foundation, Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, PVH Corp., and PwC.

YPC's programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and City Council member Eric Ulrich; the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development's Council Discretionary Fund, and New York City Council members Daniel R. Garodnick, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Mark Levine, Ydanis Rodriguez, Helen Rosenthal and Council Member Barry Grodenchik; the New York City Department of Education; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.