Press Coverage of YPC and Lincoln Center’s Berstein’s Mass: A Theater Piece For Singers, Players And Dancers
Bernstein’s Contentious ‘Mass’: The Week in Classical Music
NEW YORK TIMES: July 20, 2018
By Anthony Tommasini
“I was moved to see all the choristers immerse themselves so viscerally in the piece for the Mostly Mozart presentation, especially the earnest singers of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. For years the members of that impressive ensemble have routinely performed pieces that ask them to take chances, emboldened by artistic director Francisco J. Núñez.”
“‘Mass,’ Bernstein’s most personal and ambitious piece, has divided listeners since its 1971 premiere. The members of the various choruses take the roles of confused, agitated participants in a mass service led by a tormented Celebrant. I was moved to see all the choristers immerse themselves so viscerally in the piece for the Mostly Mozart presentation, especially the earnest singers of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. For years the members of that impressive ensemble have routinely performed pieces that ask them to take chances, emboldened by artistic director Francisco J. Núñez. Here are some young men from the chorus in Tokyo during a 2013 Asia tour performing ‘Take This Hammer,’ a prison work song. You hear them striving for a vocal heft that’s a little beyond their years. Still, they sing with inspiring grit to convey the music’s barely concealed bitterness, all the while dancing the jagged movements of Jacquie Bird’s choreography. Bernstein would have loved it.”
Read full article.
BWW Review: Call It Mishmash or MASS, Mostly Mozart Celebrates Bernstein Centennial
BROADWAY WORLD: July 20, 2018
By Richard Sasanow
“The other major role is a boy soprano, sung purely and wisely by Tenzin Gund-Morrow [YPC Chorister], who comes from one of the participating choruses, the excellent Young People’s Chorus of New York City under Elizabeth Nunez. The Concert Chorale of New York under James Bagwell also turned in a fine job in filling the hall with Bernstein’s eclectic sound.”
Read full article.
Review: Bernstein’s Ever-Controversial ‘MASS’ Receives a Galvanizing Performance at Mostly Mozart
ZEALNYC: July 20, 2018
By Joshua Rosenblum
“Boy soprano Tenzin Gund-Morrow [YPC Chorister] was exemplary in his solo passages, while the unfailingly excellent Young People’s Chorus of New York City delivered ebullient renditions of ‘Gloria Tibi’ and ‘Sanctus.'”
Read full article.