To purchase tickets, please call the Miller Theatre box office at (212) 854-7799

 

Program Notes

The Song I Sing
Music (2007) by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Commissioned (2007) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

We wrote The Song I Sing to be sung by all 1,000 children in the YPC’s after-school and in-school programs for the finale of the chorus’s sold-out 10th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall in October 2007. We were intrigued by the notion of writing a finale which would ring with the sound of a thousand young voices. What a rare opportunity! Knowing that the Young People’s Chorus of New York City takes pride in tackling challenging material, we set out to write a piece that would grow from a simple melodic core into something exciting, complex and diverse—like the chorus itself. Beginning with a melody of almost hymn-like simplicity, we gradually layered in classical vocal counterpoint, followed by a section of rhythmic “street poetry” and topped off with a jazz riff that contains the swingy rhythms of New York City itself—the place we all call home. These themes rise and build to become a statement of joy—“the gift” that each singer offers. The Song I Sing is a choral piece which we hope sums up the intentions of the evening—to present young people at their finest, doing something that is at once disciplined and joyous, a group effort and a personal statement.

 

Every Stop on the F Train
Music (2007) by Michael Gordon
Text from the NYC subway stations
Film by Bill Morrison
Commissioned (2007) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

“What’s more urban than the subway?  When Francisco J. Núñez asked me to write a piece for Transient Glory, I immediately thought of all the stops that whiz by us as we sit on the train waiting to arrive at our destination. The A train has the longest route, but I think the F has the best sounding stops. I also like that the F starts in Jamaica, Queens, and ends in Coney Island, Brooklyn. I organized the piece in three sections corresponding to the boroughs the F Train travels through. Every Stop on the F Train starts with a single melody in Queens, splits into a 2-part canon (at the eighth note) when it arrives in Manhattan and then into a 4-part canon (at the quarter note) when it arrives in Brooklyn. New Yorkers will note that some of the stops actually have 2 names (42 Street/Times Square); in those cases, I chose only one.” – Michael Gordon 

“The first film I made for a Michael Gordon composition was for a segment of the Bang On A Can production of Ben Katchor’s comic strip opera The Carbon Copy Building, which premiered at The Kitchen in 1999.

The piece was called City Walk. Starting in the Rockaways, I drove north up Flatbush Ave. with a Super 8 camera wedged in the passenger window of my car, firing a black and white frame every second, until I crossed over the Manhattan Bridge and descended into Chinatown.

This began a long and fruitful collaborative relationship with Michael. While we are best known for the decaying rhapsodies of Decasia (2002), our work together has more often revolved around exactly this type of fitful urban voyage. In 2003, I edited East River to his composition imreadywhenyouare, where a camera bounced along the surface of the river in a bag, glimpsing the barnacles on the side of the island. In 2004 we premiered Gotham at Zankel Hall, in which a camera mounted to a bicycle traced the perimeter of Lower Manhattan. And in 2008 we premiered Dystopia at Walt Disney Concert Hall, in which Michael’s thunderous score was matched to images of trash being sorted on a conveyor belt in a downtown Los Angeles recycling plant.

I first heard Every Stop on the F Train quite by accident. In April 2007, I dropped by the WNYC studios to promote a benefit concert on John Schaefer’s Soundcheck. By coincidence I met Michael there, and learned that the Young People’s Chorus of New York would be performing a new composition of his. I had the opportunity to listen to this piece for the first time completely surrounded by the chorus at point blank range, which was an astonishing acoustic experience.

When I was approached about making a film for the piece, I did not hesitate to accept. When I began filming, I realized there were several complications with shooting on the subway. Firstly, it was illegal. Secondly, there were other people on the subway who may or may not like being filmed. Thirdly, the subway did not provide a smooth ride. And fourthly, each and every inch of glass in the entire subway system is covered with scratches and scrawls. I found a tripod that clamped to the poles inside the car provided the stability a conventional tripod could not. I discovered that either New Yorkers didn’t mind being filmed, or they were just too darn polite to say so. And I learned to like all the scratches on the windows. I was not able to resolve the legality issue.

So I tried clamping the camera between the subway cars, figuring at least my camera would be out of the way. In so doing, I found my protagonist: the spring connecting two cars, which moves with acceleration of the car ahead of it. As this flying coil navigated the city, I felt like each station pulled the next one through the frames of my film, just as the voices of the YPC pull Michael’s measures along. They were exhilarating rides from Queens to Brooklyn and back. A homeless guy once asked me if I was all right, and I assured him that everything was going great.

I was eventually collared by an MTA cop (and not by the two seen on the 42nd Street platform in the film). I explained to him that it was the camera that had been riding between the cars, not me. And furthermore, that the camera had only filmed the platforms lining the subway, not the subway itself. He gave me a ticket for riding between the cars, but not for filming on the subway. I thanked him for not busting my chops too bad. To my surprise, he thanked me for not busting his chops too bad as well.” – Bill Morrison

 

Semaphore Conductus
Music (2008) by Bora Yoon
Text comprised of new and old Latin proverbs
World premiere performance
Commissioned (2008) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

Semaphore Conductus is a choral sound installation sung in surround, inspired by the conduction of energy, the language of signals, and sound. It is performed within a sound design of shortwave radio number system transmissions, Morse code, cellphone sounds, and heartbeats. The surround choir with thereminist Elizabeth Brown creates a stereophonic performance piece, incorporating altered early music techniques of Latin conductus through hocket, ventriloquated double choir, and antiphonal calls through the history and evolution of signaling and sound devices (conch, gramophone, megaphone, cellphone).

The selected text is comprised of new and old Latin proverbs that allude to the cyclical nature of communication and technology, and all of its pulleys and strings that are thusly affected as a result. It is perhaps a feeling as timeless as the means to communicate, as music is certainly one of the greatest mediums in which expression conducts the best resonance.

 

Can I
Music (2007) and Text by Joan Tower
World premiere performance
Commissioned (2007) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

Since Can I is the first piece I have ever written for voice (with words), it was a BIG challenge for me. In fact, some of the words—which are mine—were slowly erased after I finished the piece and replaced by syllables and whispers—anything that would remove a verbal meaning. (I think that some composers—like me—are fearful of words as actually taking away from the music itself. Beethoven, for example, did not particularly like writing for the voice. It’s an interesting historical “split” between instrumental and vocal composers.)  I used my own words because I felt that I could maybe express more of what I wanted to by doing that. The words are simple, directed at children and teenagers, and basically express the thought of “can I be heard” which many children experience as they grow up. Since YPC is a multicultural chorus, there are Spanish words used—I grew up in South America—and a few Yiddish and blues expressions supported by two busy percussionists. This is a terrifying piece for me!

 

Fortune
Music (2008) by Douglas J. Cuomo
Text adapted by Douglas J. Cuomo from a Taoist tale
World premiere performance
Commissioned (2007) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

My piece, Fortune, is based on one of my favorite stories, an ancient Taoist fable of a small village farmer. I set the piece as a drama, somewhat reminiscent of a radio play. The singers are divided into three “characters,” one group sings the narrator role, another that of the villagers, and a soloist sings the role of the farmer. The chorus members also play small homemade percussion instruments to provide sound effects and punctuation to the story.

The text tells the tale of the changing fortunes of the farmer who, in a chain of interconnected events, loses his only horse, which leads to him gaining three more, one of which causes his son to break his leg. As a result of the injury the son avoids conscription that would lead to certain death. His response to each turn of fortune is, “Who knows if this is good luck or bad luck,” and in the end the moral of the story is told—“Things change, life is short. You never know, keep on going. All is not as it first appears. . . .The changes have no end, the mystery cannot be fathomed.”  

Seeing Francisco at rehearsal with the Young People’s Chorus reminded me of the exuberance and vitality that teenagers can have. The sense of mutual respect, intensity, artistic focus, creativity and joy that filled the rehearsal room was an inspiration as I wrote Fortune. It also informed my choice of text—at that age people are so alert to trying to make sense of the world and how they fit into it that I thought this fable might have a particular resonance for the singers.

 

Warabe-Uta
Music (2008) by Ko Matsushita
Text from Japanese Children’s Songs
World premiere performance
Commissioned (2008) by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City

We Japanese identify strongly with the word “warabe,” which means “children.” However, we hardly use this term in our daily conversation. When we utter this relatively old word “warabe,” we at once imagine all of Japanese tradition—culture, custom and scenery—in our minds and hearts. This piece consists of three parts performed consecutively. Each portion is an original composition, not an arrangement of Japanese traditional tunes or folk music. The vigorous and vivid rhythm of the lyrics are quite unique to Japanese culture, thus Japanese color is ubiquitous in this piece as a result. It is my greatest pleasure that the Young People’s Chorus of New York City will sing the premiere of Warabe-Uta, and I hope that when they sing it, they think of my beautiful country, Japan. Japanese people LOVE American music and English songs. It is an interesting fact for me that the people in New York City can literally “PLAY” with the Japanese words today. Finally, I would like to say that Mr. Núñez has been a wonderful friend to me since we first met at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, and he understands my music deeply. I completely owe this piece to him. Without him, this piece would have never existed. I cordially express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Núñez for this opportunity. I would like to listen to today’s performance, wishing that the cultural exchange between the United States and Japan continues in peace.

 

 

New YPC CD released!

Works by Dominick Argento, Geoffrey Burgon, David Del Tredici, Tod Machover, Bright Sheng, Judith Weir, and Others are Included on this Vital Records CD 

      On January 8, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) and its Artistic Director and Conductor Francisco J. Núñez release their second recording of new works commissioned and premiered as part of their Transient Glory concert series. Entitled Transient Glory II, this recording on the Vital Records label comprises 11 compositions that were commissioned by or for the Young People’s Chorus of New York City from Dominick Argento (Orpheus), Geoffrey Burgon (Shirtless Stephen—and the Children’s Crusade), David Del Tredici (Four Heartfelt Anthems), Kevin James (NYC Play Ground), ), Benjamin Lees (The Nervous Family), Tod Machover (I Dreamt a Dream), Michael Nyman (A Child View of Colour), Jim Papoulis (Panta Rhei),  Bright Sheng (The Boatmen’s Song), Nils Vigeland (Miracles), and Judith Weir (Little Tree).  Most of these composers had never before written for a children’s chorus.  

Order the CD now from CDBaby!

Read the full press release

 

Transient Glory VII

Transient Glory VII
Sunday, April 27th, 2008 2PM
Miller Theater

With new works by:
JOAN TOWER
KO MATSUSHITA
BORA YOON
DOUG CUOMO
STEPHEN FLAHERTY AND LYNN AHRENS

New film based on the work of
MICHAEL GORDON

Stay tuned for more information!

Transient Glory Videos

Transient Glory 2007 - April 21 at 7:30pm

THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY SINGS WORLD PREMIERES OF FIVE NEWLY COMMISSIONED WORKS IN
TRANSIENT GLORY 2007
AT THE 92ND STREET Y SATURDAY, APRIL 21, AT 7:30 P.M.

Program Includes New Works from Bruce Adolphe, Michael Gordon, Meredith Monk, Ned Rorem, and Tarik O'Regan

Tickets available at the 92nd Street Y box office (Lexington Avenue and 92nd Street) or by calling the 92nd Street Y at 212-415-5500.

Meredith Monk
"Three Heavens
and Hells"

Ned Rorem
"Afternoon on a Hill"

Steve Reich
"You AreVariations"

Bruce Adolph
"Singing This Piece"

Michael Gordon
"Every Stop
on the F Train"

Tarik O'Regan
"The Taxi"

John Schaefer
Host/Moderator

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) and artistic director and YPC founder Francisco J. Nunez return to the 92nd Street Y, where the chorus is in residence, on Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. for their sixth Transient Glory concert.

Created in 2001, the first Transient Glory concert was hosted by Ned Rorem, whose only composition for a youth chorus, "What is Pink?" was performed on the program. On April 21 the Young People's Chorus will sing the world premiere of his second composition for youth chorus, "Afternoon on a Hill," in a program that also includes the world premieres of newly commissioned music from four other renowned and distinctive composers:

Bruce Adolphe
  "Singing this Piece"
Michael Gordon
   "Every Stop on the F Train"
Meredith Monk
   Three Heavens and Hells"
Tarik O'Regan
  "The Taxi"

The program opens with "Kadrilaland" by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis and closes with the first performance of a new arrangement of Steve Reich's "You Are Variations" for youth chorus, two pianos, vibraphone, metalaphone, two violins, viola, and synthesizer.

The April 21 concert will be hosted by John Schaefer of Soundcheck and New Sounds on WNYC, New York Public Radio, where YPC is the first-ever resident radio chorus of any New York radio station, and will be taped for later broadcast.

Tickets for the April 21 Transient Glory performance are $25 ($10 for parents and students) and are available at the 92nd Street Y box office (Lexington Avenue and 92nd Street) or by calling the 92nd Street Y at 212-415-5500.

Transient Glory was created in 2001 to generate recognition of the fleeting period of time when the voices of children manifest a particular inno-cence and poignancy as an important instrument for making music. It has since expanded to include workshops, publications, an acclaimed recording, and recognition of the YPC as a groundbreaker in increasing the repertoire for children's chorus, spotlighting the diversity of contemporary music, as well as acknowledging the dynamism, distinct personality, and authenticity that a multicultural chorus brings to this music.

 

Instrumentalists

Perspectives Ensemble
Artistic Director Sato Moughalian

David Cossin, Percussion I
John Hadfield, Percussion II
Stephen Gosling, Piano  
Bridget Kibbey, Harp
Miranda Cuckson, Violin I
Annaliesa Place, Violin II
Nardo Poy, Viola
Jon Manasse, Clarinet
Monica Ellis, Bassoon

more on the perspectives Ensemble

 

 

                                    
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