2026 World Bay Area Choral Dialogue: A YPC Tandon Global Collab

This October, Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) welcomes 45 young artists from China’s Guangdong Experimental Choir to New York City for a weeklong cultural and artistic exchange celebrating the power of music to create connection across languages, cultures, and continents.

From October 1–9, the two internationally acclaimed youth ensembles will come together for joint performances, rehearsals, educational exchanges, and cultural experiences throughout New York City. Activities will include a public performance at Lincoln Center, rehearsals and opportunities for shared learning, a special event at the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York, and experiences organized in collaboration with Lincoln Center, Yale University, Princeton University, and members of New York City’s musical community.

The exchange marks the latest chapter in a relationship spanning more than 20 years. YPC Founder and Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez and Guangdong Experimental Choir conductor Xie Mingjing first met while representing their countries at the World Choral Symposium in Japan in 2005. Their ensembles later crossed paths as competitors on the international choral stage, but over time, that connection grew into an artistic partnership rooted in choral excellence, mutual respect, and a shared belief in music’s ability to bring young people together.

In 2023, YPC and Guangdong choristers joined virtually to sing for International Peace Day. In 2024, YPC traveled to Guangdong Province to perform and connect with their peers in China. Now, for the first time, the Guangdong singers will travel to New York City, continuing a relationship that has grown from competition to collaboration and friendship.

Presented through the YPC Tandon Global Collab as part of the ongoing World Bay Area Choral Dialogue, the exchange reflects YPC’s commitment to educating the whole child through experiences that extend far beyond the rehearsal room. As choristers create music together, they are also learning to listen with curiosity, communicate across differences, adapt to new environments, and discover what they share with peers whose lives may look very different from their own.

At the heart of the week is a simple idea: meaningful international relationships can begin person to person. Through music, these young artists have the opportunity not only to perform alongside one another, but to learn together, share their cultures, build friendships, and return home with a broader understanding of the world and their place within it.

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Experience the Exchange

Song Bridge at Lincoln Center
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 2:30 PM
Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center
Free and open to the public

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More events and experiences to be announced!

Join YPC as we welcome our friends from Guangdong to New York City and celebrate what becomes possible when young people come together through music.