Young Peoples Chorus of New York City, Inc.

Designed to reach lower income children who lack access to high caliber music education, School Choruses bring YPC’s program into NYC public schools. The program provides a YPC conductor and musician collaborator who teach students using a proprietary, five-year curriculum, The YPC Way, that covers essential concepts such as rhythm, pitch, ear training, sight-reading, diction, and cultural context. YPC conductors place their focus on treating children as artists, and inspiring them to meet high standards of behavior, participation and musical accomplishment. Conductors receive specialized training in teaching diverse populations; the curriculum was developed to address children of different abilities – including those classified as English Language Learners – through aural, verbal, kinesthetic, analytical, and storytelling teaching approaches. They also serve as significant role models in the children’s lives, exemplifying the musicianship, discipline, and positivity they seek to instill in their students. The School Choruses program is entirely free of charge to all children.

Over 1,300 students from 20 New York City schools take part in YPC’s School Choruses. The groups give a total of 40 performances on school and community stages, culminating in a year-end, 1,000 voices strong, concert at the 92nd Street Y or another major venue. Music instruction and rehearsal lasts from 45 to 90 minutes, once or twice a week, for 8- to 30-week periods, depending on the needs of the school. On average, YPC conductors hold 400+ School Choruses rehearsals per year. Among the criteria for choosing partners for the School Choruses, YPC considers the impact the program will have – focusing on schools with high-need and/or lack of music education. Based on historical data, over 75% of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, a measurement tracking household income and required by the Federal Government, and the majority of schools have Title One designation.

Select students graduating from the School Choruses who show promise and interest are invited to join YPC’s afterschool Performance Choruses at Lincoln Square where they have an opportunity to continue their vocal training. Currently, 25% of children in the Performance Choruses came by way of the School Choruses.

YPC launched its Community Choruses initiative in 2012 to reach children ages 8 to 13 afterschool in their own neighborhoods. The program, which runs from September to June and has grown fivefold, currently serving 150 children from the Bronx, Washington Heights and northern Manhattan, including a majority of children from Spanish-speaking homes for whom English is a second language. The choruses are based at the Church of the Intercession and at Goddard Riverside Community Center, whose constituencies include low-income and working-class families. Designed to be a neighborhood-based experience, Community Choruses often partner with nearby non-profits for performances and events, as well as performing at YPC’s major concerts in storied venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Created to be a family-oriented program, each year Community Choruses hold events designed to draw choristers’ siblings, parents and caregivers together, such as an annual skating party, picnic in Central Park and open houses. At the end of each season, Community Choruses take part in American Young Voices, an international program with over 8,000 other children at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey conducted by YPC’s Artistic Director and Founder Francisco J. Núñez.