Young People's Chorus of New York City Wins Five Gold Medals at 12th World Choir Games

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned for its superb virtuosity, brilliant showmanship and innovative model of diversity, has won five gold medals – three as world champions – at the 12th World Choir Games, held July 3-13 in Gangneung, Republic of Korea. The world's largest international choir competition, the World Choir Games was created to unite people and nations through singing in peaceful competition.

“We are incredibly proud of our choristers,” said YPC Founder and Artistic Director, Francisco J. Núñez. “It's not easy to become World Champions, and our young people poured their hearts and souls into this competition. We are so thrilled their persistence, hard work, artistry and dedication has been recognized with such a prestigious title. In addition to this remarkable accomplishment, one of the highlights of any international competition is connecting with singers from all over the world, and we have made new friends from as far away as South Africa, Indonesia and Austria. Overall, this has been a profoundly rewarding and unforgettable experience for all of us at YPC.” 

Nearly 100 YPC choristers between the ages of 11-18 competed along with other singers from across the globe in genres ranging from gospel and scenic folklore to contemporary. YPC received Gold Medals in the following categories:

Champions of the World Gold Medal – Children's Choirs

Conducted by Elizabeth Núñez, YPC was awarded the Champions of the World Gold Medal in the Children's Choirs category. YPC's program for this category included “Mignonne, allons voir si la rose” (Guillaume Costeley), “Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman” (Francisco J. Núñez), “Panta Rhei” (Jim Papoulis) and “Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down” (Traditional Spiritual, arr. Caldwell and Ivory).

Champions of the World Gold Medal – Musica Contemporanea Equal Voices

Conducted by Elizabeth Núñez & Francisco J. Núñez, YPC was awarded the Champions of the World Gold Medal in the Musica Contemporanea Equal Voices category. YPC's program for this category included “Suite from Dancing Voices” (Meredith Monk), “For Every Atom” (Paola Prestini), the world premiere of “Perception” (Elizabeth Núñez) and “Danse Africaine” (Jessie Montgomery).

Champions of the World Gold Medal – Mixed Youth Choirs

Conducted by Francisco J. Núñez, YPC was awarded the Champions of the World Gold Medal in the Mixed Youth Choirs category. YPC's program for this category included “Bubbles” (Bernat Vivancos), “So Much On My Soul” (Ellen Reid), “Rampono” (Sydney Guillaume) and “Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?” (Spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan).

Gold Medal – Scenic Folklore

Conducted by Francisco J. Núñez, YPC was awarded the Gold Medal in the Scenic Folklore category. YPC's program for this category included “Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal” (Alice Parker), “Take This Hammer” (Francisco J. Núñez), “Red River Valley” and “Cindy” (American Folk Song, arr. Mack Wilberg).

Gold Medal – Gospel

Conducted by Elizabeth Núñez, YPC was awarded the Gold Medal in the Gospel category. YPC's program for this category included “More Abundantly Medley” (Sonja G. Whitmore, arr. Matt Podd) and “For Every Mountain” (Kurt Carr, arr. Matt Podd).

Held on different continents every two years, the World Choir Games was formed in 2000 by the German Organization INTERKULTUR. Based on Olympic ideals, the World Choir Games aims to peacefully unify people and nations connected by song in a fair competition and to inspire people to experience the power of interaction by singing together. This way, the coming together of nations through the arts can be effectively and illustratively demonstrated and continuously challenged.

For more information about YPC, please visit https://ypc.org/. For more information on the World Choir Games, please visit https://www.interkultur.com/events/world-choir-games/gangneung-2023/.

About Young People's Chorus of New York City

Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned for its superb virtuosity, brilliant showmanship, and innovative model of diversity. Founded by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America's 2018 Educator of the Year, YPC's mission and values are deeply rooted in providing children of all cultural and economic backgrounds with a unique program of music education and choral performance. YPC is committed to uplifting young people and providing pathways to success through the arts so that each child, no matter what race, gender, socioeconomic background, or religion can reach their full potential. Among YPC's many awards is America's highest honor for youth programs, a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, which was presented to members of YPC at the White House. Under the direction of YPC's Creative Director, Elizabeth Núñez, YPC also earned the distinction of “Choir of the World” in July 2018 at the International Choral Kathaumixw (Powell River, British Columbia), marking the first time in its history that a North American chorus had ever won this title. www.ypc.org.