True Colors

The PS22 Chorus of 2011 is going full throttle as we head towards the end of the school year with this gorgeous cover of "True Colors" by the legendary Cyndi Lauper! Another glorious accomplishment from our favorite fifth graders... worth the all sorts of black and blue I'm going to be tomorrow!

UPDATE 6-1-11: Thanks must again go to PS22 champion Perez Hilton for posting this on his blog!

Pretty Good Year

The PS22 Chorus of 2011 has been on a fantastic roll of great performances lately, and this might top them all with the kids' absolutely gorgeous cover of Tori Amos's "Pretty Good Year!" And it certainly has been...

Thanks to Mr. Eberle for his amazing guitar work and to Ms. Lisa for her beautiful filming. And how about third grader Alicea on the solo?!

UPDATE 5-28-11: Thanks to our fantastic friend, Perez Hilton, for posting our latest video and bestowing some awesome praise!

Born This Way

In honor of today's new album release by Lady Gaga, the PS22 Chorus of 2011 presents the inimitable Denise tearing up "Born This Way!"

PS22 Chorus Performs at Bronx Botanical Gardens

On Friday, the PS22 Chorus of 2011 gave a truly outstanding performance at The Bronx Botanical Gardens for a bevy of principals attending a conference. The kids sang an absolutely stunning and heartrending version of "Daniel" by Elton John. Adham asked Marquis to join him on this, and the two together provide some serious chills when they nail that high E. One of my personal favorite live performances from PS22 of all-time for sure!! Thanks to our beloved Ms. Lisa for capturing it on video!

PS22 Chorus Rocks The Gridiron Gala!

On Tuesday, the kids indeed rocked The Waldorf Astoria Hotel singing at The 18th Annual Gridiron Gala sponsored by United Way, which honors the legends of our 2 New York football teams, The Jets and The Giants! Jonathan, Brianna "Krispy", Marquis, and the PS22 Chorus tore it up on "Not Afraid" by Eminem and "Breaking It Up" by Lykke Li! Check out the performances below, filmed by our very own Ms. Lisa!

Thanks to Ms. Laurie also for the fantastic pics included in this post!

UPDATE 5-20-11: Thanks to Perez Hilton for posting the soundcheck version of "Breaking It Up" on his blog with such amazingly kind words!

Listen To Your Heart

So I really wasn't expecting to have anything ready to post today, but the PS22 Chorus really blew me away this afternoon, picking up these difficult harmonies (with a key change no less) in just one rehearsal. So here is the beautiful 80's pop ballad by Roxette called "Listen To Your Heart," made all the more poignant by our favorite fifth graders! Thanks to Mr. Eberle for contributing his guitar skills, and of course props to Denise for filling in on the solo spot for today....

Huge thanks to Ms. Lisa for the pristine filming and snapping the title photo of the post!

UPDATE: Thanks to Perez Hilton for his wonderful post and praise!

PS22 Chorus Inspires Simon Cowell!

Of course Simon Cowell, being who he is, is not capable of making clean work of a compliment. But in an interview that was widely circulated across the web, Simon says (in reference to PS22) that he wants "to find the next one of those." Pretty cool. That said, we're willing to forgive his ear failure with regard to the kids' Oscars performance.... ;)

Check out Simon's interview here.

American Idol Winner David Cook makes PS22 Chorus an offer...

...we can hardly refuse!!

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

On a whim at rehearsal today, I decided to try this song (one of my favorite songs from high school) on the PS22 Chorus, and what a perfect fit! This is "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths!

Thanks to Ms. Laurie for filming!

UPDATE 5-12-11: Johnny Marr, guitarist from The Smiths, tweeted about the PS22 Chorus version of "Please, Please, Please...." -- check it out below!

Awake My Soul

Here is the great song "Awake My Soul" by the amazing Mumford And Sons requested by and dedicated to our very own Ms. Lisa! With yet another fantastic cover, it's safe to say the PS22 Chorus of 2011 is on a thunderous roll -- especially when considering the kids put this performance together in about an hour's time! Props and thanks to Marquis on the bongos, Mr. Eberle on the guitar, and of course Ms. Lisa on the camera -- a winning combination! "We love you Ms. Lisa!!"

UPDATE: Very proud to see that Mumford and Sons caught wind of this video, as it appeared on M&S keyboardist Ben Lovett's Facebook page! And he says it's "awesome...." Fantastic!!

Breathing Color

On Friday, the PS22 Chorus welcomed back its only third grade member from 2004, Joshua! Displaying a unique voice and serious talent even back then, we definitely knew he was destined for musical greatness! Here he is showing said greatness on his original song, "Breathing Color." And at the end of the video you can hear a vintage performance from Josh of "Memory" from the musical CATS by Andrew Lloyd Webber, recorded back in the PS22 auditorium in 2004. (For those wondering about the lyrics, Josh loved singing Italian opera, so he improvised made up Italian words for this performance.) Make sure you also catch Joshua performing with the chorus on a phenomenal version of "Breaking It Up" by Lykke Li!

APRIL 2011 POLL RESULTS!

The fans have spoken and your two favorite PS22 Chorus originals are "Stay With Me" and "True North"

And make sure you vote in our new May Poll on the right sidebar! This month's poll allows you to vote for your favorite PS22 Chorus hip hop cover! Be an educated voter, and check out the 4 nominees below!