GOSPEL FOR TEENS CHOIR to Perform on 'The Celebrity Apprentice' Live Finale This Sunday

Vy Higginsen's Gospel for Teens Choir will perform live on the season finale of the hit NBC reality program "The Celebrity Apprentice," airing this Sunday, May 20th from 9 – 11 p.m. Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken are the final two contestants this season on "The Celebrity Apprentice," produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Page Feldman and Nancy Gunn are the program's executive producers.

The Gospel for Teen Choir's appearance on the live season finale of "The Celebrity Apprentice" marks their fifth national television appearance this past year, having recently been featured on CBS TV's "60 Minutes" and "The Early Show," ABC TV's "This Week," and "The Nate Berkus Show."

Gospel for Teens is a program of the Mama Foundation for the Arts and Vy's Higginsen's School of Gospel, Jazz and R&B Arts, located in Harlem, New York. Gospel for Teens, founded in 2006, is a highly respected and influential music program for youth between the ages of 13 and 19. Twice a year, between 40 and 60 participants are selected through an audition process, and those chosen attend for no cost. Students learn music history and vocal techniques and are encouraged to discover their personal artistic talent and expressions while building self-confidence, on stage and off. The Gospel for Teens Choir serves as ambassadors of gospel music, passing the music from this generation to the next, while bringing together people of all races, nationalities and religious/spiritual backgrounds. The Gospel for Teens Choir has performed nationally at various events and venues, including recent appearances at the TED2012 Conference in Long Beach, CA and the 2012 Stellar Gospel Music Awards in Nashville, TN. Locally the Gospel for Teens Choir has performed at the Apollo Theater, the American Museum of Natural History, Yankee Stadium, Central Park's Wollman Rink, Grand Central Station and St. Paul Community Baptist Church.

Members of the Gospel for Teens Choir appear in the production of Mama, I Want to Sing: The Next Generation, which recently celebrated its one year anniversary at The Dempsey Theater (127 West 127th Street). Called "hard to resist" by The New York Times and "mesmerizing" by The Amsterdam News, this revival of Mama, I Want to Sing, the 1983 gospel musical based on the life and times of singer Doris Troy ("Just One Look"), stars the choir's Co-Music Directors Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson and Elijah Ahmad Lewis, and also features many choir members in the cast.

Mama, I Want to Sing: The Next Generation performs on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. at The Dempsey Theatre (127 West 127th Street). The musical is presented by the Mama Foundation for the Arts along with the musical revue Sing, Harlem, Sing! (performing on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.), which features a soulful score that includes R&B, jazz, rock 'n' roll and gospel ("Music from Saturday Night and Sunday Morning"). Tickets to both shows are $35.00 each and are available via www.smarttix.com (212-868-4444). Special discounts are offered for students, senior citizens, and groups (10 or more tickets) and can be arranged by calling the Mama Foundation for the Arts at 212-280-1045.

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