Full Bio

The Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC)--the resident choir of both the 92nd Street Y and WNYC, New York public radio--is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed youth ensemble that performs more than 70 concerts, operas, and workshops annually in New York and beyond. Their engagements have taken them from Carnegie Hall and the White House to cities in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Japan, and Spain where they have sung in such illustrious venues as Smetana Hall in Prague and St. Martin in the Fields in London, as well as with professional symphony orchestras and distinguished artists. This past summer they performed at the Asa- Minami Ward Cultural Center Hall in Hiroshima and were honored to represent the U.S. at the Seventh World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, Japan. Most recently, they appeared on national television from Rockefeller Center on NBC-TV’s Today Show and opened the internationally renowned Rockefeller Center Treelighting festivities singing on the ice beneath the great Norway spruce.

Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez founded the Young People’s Chorus of New York City in 1988 with two goals in mind: commitments to musical excellence and to providing an atmosphere where young people of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds could further their personal and artistic growth through the study and performance of music. The choir has grown from a group of musical novices who loved to sing to a sought-after, musically sophisticated youth ensemble comprising 250 choristers ranging in age from 8 to 18 in five choral divisions. An additional 400+ young people participate through the YPC’s in-school Partner Schools and Satellite Schools Programs, and the Casita Maria community program.

The Young People’s Chorus of New York City performs a wide-ranging and challenging repertoire ranging from classical, jazz, and pop, to music from many of the world’s cultures in the languages native to those lands. With a particular emphasis on contemporary music, YPC has sung more than 50 world premieres and commissioned 48 new works to date by many of today’s most distinguished composers, such as John Tavener, Morton Gould, Michael Nyman, Bright Sheng, Tod Machover, and David Del Tredici as part of “Transient Glory, the Voices of Children,” their annual concert series, which focuses on the youth chorus as an important instrument for making music. YPC won high praise for their 2004 “Transient Glory” concert, which featured seven world premieres of five YPC commissions (The New York Times said the chorus performed “with impeccable pitch, luminous sound and palpable energy”) and for their “Transient Glory” CD on Vital Records, featuring the chorus singing compositions they commissioned and premiered at past “Transient Glory” concerts. Classics Today called it “an essential disc for fans of new choral music and for anyone who wants to experience the virtuoso capabilities of one of today’s finest youth choirs.” This year YPC commissioned seven major contemporary composers--Mark Adamo, Derek Bermel, John Corigliano, Thea Musgrave, Bobby Previe, David Sawer, and Rufus Wainwright—to write compositions for their “Transient Glory IV” concert on April 29.

To enable other choruses throughout the world to share in the performance of this new music, Boosey & Hawkes is spearheading a publication series, with G. Schirmer and Chester Novello, entitled “Transient Glory” comprising original pieces written for and premiered by YPC. To further advance the formation and development of youth choirs, YPC holds two annual choral workshops, recently presented a “Transient Glory” choral symposium and festival at NYU featuring more than 10 notable contemporary composers

YPC has been asked to represent the City of New York at many of the city’s milestones, including the reopening of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor in 2004. Other highlights of recent seasons have been annual Christmas concerts at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Carnegie Hall, a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Netherlands Youth Orchestra and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; the U.S. premiere of Schoene Geschichten at the 92nd Street Y’s Stephen Wolpe centennial celebration; a performance for the Queen of the Netherlands; the New York professional premiere of Hans Krasa’s Brundibar at the Henry Street Settlement, as well as the newest version of Brundibar by Maurice Sendak and Tony Kushner at the Jewish Museum. They were also among the performers to celebrating the 75th birthday of Stephen Sondheim in New York. In addition to the two gold medals the chorus won in Germany, YPC has won top prizes in several other international choral competitions including contests in the U.S., both coasts of Canada, the Czech Republic, and in Spain.

YPC often collaborates with youth choruses from other U.S. cities. This past June YPC participated with 11 other choirs from throughout the U.S. at the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans, and in January they return to Boston to sing with the Boston and Chicago Children’s Choruses celebrating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King in a commemorative concert, scheduled to be telecast in Boston and Chicago.

The Young People’s Chorus of New York City has been a recognized leader in demonstrating a strong commitment to urban at-risk youth by the N.Y. State Assembly, the Mayor of New York City, and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, and as “a national model of artistic excellence and diversity,” by the President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities. WNET/Thirteen inducted the YPC into its Community Hall of Fame for their “exemplary efforts in the fields of the arts and culture, education and social concerns that are related to Thirteen’s programming and/or to the station’s mission to educate, enlighten and inform.”

For his exemplary work with children, YPC Artistic Director Francisco Núñez has been presented with numerous awards, such as the prestigious Child Champion award from Child magazine, a Liberty Award from the New York Post, and a Luminary Award from Casita Maria. He has also been honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics of 2005 by Hispanic Business magazine and selected for a GMC advertising campaign honoring unsung Hispanic heroes doing great work in their communities.

December 2005

 

Short Bio

The award-winning Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC), the resident chorus of both the 92nd Street Y and WNYC, New York public radio, is an internationally acclaimed, multicultural youth ensemble that performs more than 70 concerts, operas, and workshops annually in New York and beyond. Under Artistic Director and Founder Francisco Núñez, it is one of America’s most sought-after youth choirs with celebrated performances on three continents--from Carnegie Hall and the White House to cities in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Japan, and Spain. This past summer they performed at the Asa- Minami Ward Cultural Center Hall in Hiroshima and were selected as one of only two U.S. choirs to represent the U.S. at the Seventh World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, Japan. Most recently, they appeared on national television twice from Rockefeller Center: on NBC-TV’s Today Show and the Rockefeller Center Treelighting

Not only is the YPC widely praised for the quality and depth of their performances, but through their groundbreaking Transient Glory concerts, CDs and publications, they are impacting the world of choral music itself by commissioning today’s most distinguished composers to write music for children’s choirs. To date, they have sung more than 50 world premieres and commissioned 41 new works, 20 of which have already been published by Boosey & Hawkes in association with Chester Novello and G. Schirmer. The YPC is composed of 250 choristers of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds ranging in age from 8 to 18. An additional 400+ young people participate through the YPC’s in-school Satellite Schools and Casita Maria community programs.

The winner of two gold medals in the 2004 Choir Olympics in Germany, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City has been recognized for its strong commitment to urban at-risk youth by the N.Y. State Assembly, the Mayor of New York City, and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, and as “a national model of artistic excellence and diversity” by the President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities. WNET/Thirteen inducted the YPC into its Community Hall of Fame for their “exemplary efforts in the fields of the arts and culture, education and social concerns.”

December 2005

Youth Chorus New York City - Children's Chorus recognized Young People's Chorus is a performance-based choral program that has Youth Chorus New York City - Children's Chorus ensemble for children, youth and young adults. Youth Chorus New York City - Children's Chorus.