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All summer long, YPC’s choristers are bringing harmony to enthusiastic audiences in North America and across the ocean
From sold-out concert halls throughout Japan and an international choral competition in British Columbia to performances with Lincoln Center and The Classical Theatre of Harlem, YPC is making the most of its 30th Anniversary summer.
15-city Tour of Japan
July 9 – August 10 | This week: from Sapporo to Tokyo
With a full schedule of workshops, cultural exchanges, and concerts conducted by Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Núñez, YPC’s choristers are in the midst of bringing their extraordinary tour program of music and dance to audiences in 15 Japanese cities. In fact, the concert-goers are so spirited that in Osaka, the audience members would not let the singers leave the stage until they had performed a record-breaking six encores! Still to come are performances in Sapporo, Nagano, Kanazawa, and three in Tokyo before they sadly say “Sayonara” to their new friends after this memorable 1100-mile musical journey.
We are very excited that we are able to share this YPC tour experience with you. NHK Global, Japan’s largest broadcasting organization, has created a documentary about this YPC tour, which will begin airing on Friday, August 3. Afterwards, it will be available on the NHK website for an entire year. Stay tuned to our social media channels and our Summer Tour page for a direct link.
Mostly Mozart Festival: Bernstein’s MASS
July 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. | David Geffen Hall
Last month, YPC returned to Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival as featured artists in Leonard Bernstein’s much-talked-about MASS: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers. Reviewing for The New York Times, chief music critic Anthony Tommasini “was moved to see all the choristers immerse themselves so viscerally in the piece … especially the earnest singers of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.” In another Times piece, YPC chorus member Tenzin Gund-Morrow was singled out for his “particularly fine” singing in the solo role of the boy soprano.
4TH ANNUAL WIT: WOMEN INSPIRING TOMORROW CONFERENCE WELCOMES RECORD NUMBER OF CHORISTERS AND ALUMNAE AND WIT PROS
On April 28, over 170 women of all ages gathered at the Grand Hyatt New York for the 2018 Women Inspiring Tomorrow Conference, where YPC choristers and alumnae were joined by Keynote Speaker Laura Schwab, President of Aston Martin the Americas, and accomplished women in fields ranging from the automotive and insurance industries to the arts, education and law. Led by Elizabeth Núñez, YPC Associate Artistic Director and WIT Director and Founder, YPC’s mentoring and career-planning event began with lively informal conversations on the young women’s aspirations—in business, fashion, musical theater and other areas. YPC choristers participated in a question and answer session with Ms. Schwab, and received confidence-building advice from Gravitas Guru Raleigh Mayer and an alumnae panel.
YPC named “Choir of the World” at International Choral Kathaumixw
July 1-9 | Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
After winning gold medals in both the Children’s Choir and Contemporary Music categories, YPC, conducted by Associate Artistic Director Elizabeth Núñez, went on to achieve the 2018 International Choral Kathaumixw Festival’s highest honor—Choir of the World—in competition with both adult and children’s choruses. YPC’s win marks the first time in the history of the festival that a North American choir has achieved this honor.
WATCH THE AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT AND PERFORMANCE:
Free Pre-curtain Performance before Classical Theatre of Harlem’s “Antigone”
July 12 | Marcus Garvey Park
Within days of returning from Canada, the newly named “Choir of the World” performed a one-hour concert of selections from the award-winning Canadian program to a very enthusiastic Marcus Garvey Park audience in Harlem. This free event preceded The Classical Theatre of Harlem’s “brisk and very handsome staging” (The New York Times) of Antigone.
YPC and Yale Choral Artists Come Together for “The Glass Box” Concert Program
June 16 & 18 | New Haven, CT and New York, NY
In June, YPC partnered with Yale Choral Artists for two concerts—the first at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven and the second at Merkin Hall in New York City, both of which explored the theme of citizenship. The concerts both featured world premieres: The Glass Box by Paola Prestini (co-commissioned by YPC and Yale Choral Artists) and Borderless by Arturo O’Farrill (commissioned by YPC). The New Haven performance also included a conversation—“Music as a Unifying Force”—led by Francisco J. Núñez with contributions by YPC chorus members. Read Musical America‘s review of The Glass Box >
WATCH “MUSIC AS A UNIFYING FORCE” AT THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS: