Young People's Chorus Of New York City Presents 15th Annual School Choruses Concert

Bringing together over 1,000 young choristers, the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) presents its 15th annual, year-end concert for the citywide YPC School Choruses program at The World Famous Apollo Theater (253 West 125th Street) on Thursday, May 17, at 10:45 a.m. The program is directed year-round by YPC Associate Artistic Director Elizabeth Núñez, and the upcoming concert showcases the musical growth of its participants-New York City elementary- and middle-school children-over the course of the school year, during which YPC-trained music educators teach them how to read and write music, sing with healthy vocal technique, and perform as a group.

Tickets priced at $15 are available via the Apollo Theater Box Office or online via Ticketmaster by clicking here.

This year's concert program, "Red Light, Green Light," explores the sounds of childhood in New York City-from playground chants and rhymes to multicultural pop song mash-ups-while also incorporating choreography. The program will feature the world premiere of a new vocal work composed for the occasion by YPC Founder and Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez. This work, after which the program is named, fuses hip-hop and Latin rhythms with vocal patter from songs like Miss Mary Mack; Pizza, Pizza; and Down, Down Baby.

The choristers, led by YPC conductors under Elizabeth Núñez, will be joined onstage by special guests from The Classical Theater of Harlem led by Producing Artistic Director Ty Jones, and Elise Monte Dance, led by Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher.

"When the children get on the stage at the Apollo, they feel like they are true artists, they are the stars," said Elizabeth Núñez. "We hope they learn that when you work hard towards excellence, you can achieve something really amazing."

The YPC School Choruses program, an in-school music education and performance initiative, was created by Francisco J. Núñez in 2003 to make YPC's unique music education and performance program available to more New York City students. The program provides intensive music instruction free of charge to 1,200 schoolchildren in 18 New York City schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Under the direction of Elizabeth Núñez, six YPC conductors with advanced degrees and trained in The YPC Way bring the curriculum-which exceeds national standards-into classrooms across the city. Led by YPC conductors Caitlin Dobmeier, Gia Gan, Emma Hathaway, Maria Peña, Amber Salladin, and Sonny Willis, and accompanied by professional pianists, students perform two to ten times per year not only at school functions, but also in major New York City venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Kaufmann Concert Hall, and the Apollo Theater.

Support for this program has been provided by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, the Pinkerton Foundation, PwC, the Barker Welfare Foundation, Bay & Paul Foundations, Javis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, and Lanie & Ethel Foundation.

The Young People's Chorus of New York City is a world-renowned youth chorus founded in 1988 on a mission of diversity and artistic excellence by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America's 2018 Educator of the Year. Under the leadership of Francisco and Elizabeth Núñez, the program has harnessed the power of music to fulfill the potential of children, heightening an awareness of the ability of children to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry. Over 1,700 children from ages 8 to 18 participate annually in YPC through its after-school, in-school, and community programs. YPC's repertoire ranges from renaissance and classical traditions to gospel, folk, pop, contemporary, and world music. YPC has performed on four continents, has won over a dozen gold medals in international choral competitions, and has invigorated the repertoire for young voices by commissioning and premiering over 100 compositions from today's most distinguished composers. YPC is a recipient of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, America's highest honor for youth programs. For more information, visit ypc.org.

YPC's programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and City Council Members Margaret Chin, Helen Rosenthal, and Eric Ulrich; the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development's Council Discretionary Fund, and New York City Council Members Daniel R. Garodnick, Barry Grodenchik, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Ydanis Rodriguez, Helen Rosenthal and Helen Rosenthal; the New York City Department of Education; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.