The 10th Annual Holiday Choral Concert!

On Thursday, December 17th, the PS22 Chorus performed its 10th Annual Holiday Choral Concert to a very appreciative audience of family and friends! It was a tremendous performance all around, and even included surprise guests from PS22's past and future! This post includes some of the extraordinary highlights from the performance! As you will no doubt see for yourselves, the kids made the event truly unforgettable!

The festivities began with the fourth grade chorus (pictured above), who absolutely rocked their first major performance, and definitely provided strong evidence that the PS22 Chorus will be rocking the universe for a long time to come! They sang 5 holiday selections and definitely left the audience hungry for more!

When the fifth graders took the stage, everybody was ready for something big, and the kids definitely delivered!! Soloists, D'ahvionne ("This Christmas"), Brielle ("Halo" & "Star Of Wonder"), Eddie & Leah ("Wintersong"), Kayla S. & Justin F. ("Fireflies") Albert & Jasmin ("O Holy Night"), and Karinna & Alyssa O. ("Run This Town") were all in top form, and each gave their respective performances some memorable moments! Check out 8 selections from the fifth grade below!

"This Christmas" by Donnie Hathoway


"Halo" by Beyonce


"Wintersong" by Sarah McLachlan


"O Holy Night" Traditional


"Fireflies" by Owl City


"A Winter's Carol" by Tori Amos


"Run This Town" by Jay-Z, Rihanna, & Kanye West

But the show also had some very special surprises, starting with our biggest voice in the littlest package, second-grader Alicea!!! Alicea sang at our holiday performance just 2 years ago and almost stole the show then, just as she did this year! Check out an incredible PS22 voice of the future below!

The PS22 Chorus also welcomed back to the stage, 2009 chorus superstar, Allie, who performed a stunning version of "A Silent Night With You" by Tori Amos with the 2010-ers. It was definitely one of the evening's highlights!

Another stunner came from phenom-alum Ben, who reprised one of my all-time favorite solo performances from back in his hey day with the PS22 Chorus of 2005! The song is "Not Guilty" by John P. Kees & The New Life Choir, and Ben sings it like it's his. A revelation for sure!

We finished the alumni performances with this reprise from 2003's holiday show, "Back Door Santa" by Clarence Carter into "(Back Door) Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt. And to say that Clive & Shaina completely and thoroughly rocked the house, would be a resounding understatement!! An unforgettable show closer!

Of course every great show has its low points, and the PS22 Chorus definitely lived up to the annual tradition of completely butchering its delivery of "Happy Birthday" to a pained music teacher. Of course it's the thought that counts, but as you can see in the pic below, I did my best to prevent the impending debacle. Needless to say, it was a lost cause....

Definitely an amazing night of music and laughter! It's hard to believe we've been at this gig for 10 years now, when every year still feels so new and fresh. But this was no doubt the absolute perfect way to celebrate this milestone night, with old friends and new, and one can only imagine what the next 10 years will bring! In the meantime, enjoy some more great pics, courtesy of my dad.