Here the PS22 Chorus close out this amazing school year with an annual ritual. This is an original song called "Butterfly" which seemed fitting for the day, as the kids end this phase of their journey to go on to spread their wings and bestow their love and light upon the world....
And for all those who are already suffering PS22 Chorus of 2012 withdrawal, not to worry! Much more to come from these kids.... On Monday, the kids went into a recording studio (courtesy of our friend Yuna and her management) and recorded five songs! More on that soon. They also recorded a Public Service Announcement for the National Forest Foundation which will begin airing nationally in July! There are also several previously unposted performances from the group including some of the best yet! With all this to look forward to, as well as some videos featuring some of your favorite PS22 Chorus alumni, there is plenty of reason to stay tuned to PS22 throughout the summer!
PS22 Chorus of 2012 presents our graduation song, "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. This was a request from our dear friend Ms.Lisa (our videographer), and the kids dedicated it to another dear friend, 5th grade teacher Valerie Panzella. Truly one of the greatest educators on the planet, no one is more deserving than she of such a loving tribute....
This morning, our new friends Walk The Moon gave an incredible acoustic performance of their song "Anna Sun" on the VH1 show Big Morning Buzz!! Before the performance, they gave PS22 Chorus an amazing shout out!! Check it out below! (The PS22 discussion begins at 1:10 into the video!)
The best part of this profession is that after all these years going at this gig, I can still be thoroughly blown away like I was at yesterday's rehearsal! I'm still not even sure how this performance happened, but I'm thankful it did! Kevin is uncanny, Kiarah is sublime, Daniel-san is awesome (and hilarious!) on the drums, and the chorus is PERFECT in this rendition of "One and Only" by the one and only Adele! Kiarah brought this song to me the day before with a beautiful a cappella rendition she will be singing at her aunt and uncle's wedding, and inspired this arrangement, of which I am most proud! The kids are approaching the end of the school year, but are certainly making the most out of the time they have left...
UPDATE (6-19-12): Check out the awesome praise the kids received from our dear friend Perez Hilton!
On Thursday, the PS22 Chorus of 2012 was treated to a visit from the Malaysian sensation known as YUNA, truly one of the greatest new artists we've heard in quite a while! YUNA was thrilled with the recent PS22 cover of her song, "Live Your Life," and was compelled to come down and make music with the kids! The kids performed and recorded four songs with her, including "Live Your Life," "Lullabies," "Remember My Name," and "Decorate" (the last which the kids learned only minutes before her arrival)! Check out the performances below! UPDATE (9-3-12): Just added -- An alternate version of "Live Your Life" featuring Mr. Eberle on the bass!
Huge thanks to YUNA for coming down and leaving an indelible mark on all of us, Rob Stone, Sonia Aneja, Ashley Purdum from Fader (that featured PS22 Chorus in a behind-the-scenes video when we recorded background vocals for Passion Pit three years ago) for setting up the visit, Ms. Lisa for the beautiful vids, and Victor & Bonnie Breinberg for the fantastic pics included on the post!
On Monday, the PS22 Chorus of 2012 brought down the house yet again at the Samsung Hope For Children Gala at the American Museum of Natural History!! In the video below, they are introduced by Kevin Jonas as the kids present the original "PS22 Rap" led by Ah-meen with Daniel-san on the drums! In addition to Kevin's awesome intro, the kids also were given some kind words by Regis Philbin, the MC of the evening, at the close of their performance! You can also spot John Legend (who heard the kids perform just the other day at the Clarins Million Meals Gala at Lincoln Center) in the audience during the video grooving to the kids amazing sounds! Also in attendance were former first lady Laura Bush, Eli Manning, Tim Tebow, Boomer Esiasaon, Dan Marino, Jason Taylor, Jimmie Johnson, David Alan Grier, Dominique Dawes and a bevvy of other big names!
But the best moment of all happened after the performance, when the kids got a private introduction to the fabulous Jennifer Hudson!! We came up with literally a last minute arrangement of the song when we heard we were going to get to say hello, and the kids gave an amazing mini-performance despite their excitement! Jennifer even joined in on a harmony at one point! It was wonderful to see that she is as wonderful off-stage as she is on, and made for one of the coolest celeb encounters PS22 has had! Personal highlight was comparing Simon Cowell stories -- we both have had the privilege of being alternately praised and panned by Mr. Cowell. Simon has lauded PS22's YouTube videos but was critical of the Academy Awards performance. Jennifer too received some unfair criticism from Simon and could relate.... We ultimately agreed that Simon "don't know nothin'!" LOVE HER!!
Check out some fantastic pictures below of the event as captured by photographer David Hechler, who was kind enough to send them on and allow us to post! Thanks to him and Victor & Bonnie Breinberg for additional pics included on this post!
On Thursday, the PS22 Chorus joined forces with John Legend, Natasha Bedingfield, Bill Clinton, host Michelle Williams (formerly of Destiny's Child) and an array of prestigious performers at the wonderful Clarins Million Meals Concert for FEED Foundation at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center! The kids were incredibly received, performing three standout selections that earned them a standing ovation midway through the performance! This performance of "Castle On A Cloud" from Les Miserables is my personal favorite of the evening, as we had the honor of being accompanied by the renowned and incredibly talented young violist, David Aaron Carpenter, who arranged his own accompaniment to the PS22 Chorus performance only days before the event! The kids only had the opportunity to run through this with David once at the soundcheck before the actual performance which you see here. Faith is gorgeous on the leads, and the chorus sounds beautiful!
Thanks to David for enhancing this performance to perfection, Michelle Williams for the beautiful introduction, and most importantly to the Feed Foundation for the important work they do and for including us in the festivities! Thanks also to Ms. Lisa for filming, and to Feed Foundation as well as Bonnie & Victor Breinberg for the pics on this post!
This song was a high school favorite of mine and has been floating in my head. It basically demanded itself to be brought to the chorus.... So glad it did! It's one of my absolute favorites this year! Here is "True Faith" by New Order presented by the PS22 Chorus of 2012!
UPDATE (6-6-12): Check out this absolutely BRILLIANT version performed at the 2012 YMCA Dodge Dinner, followed by the originally posted version!
Here is your cute fix to end the weekend. Presenting Evan, a young man who demonstrates impeccable taste in music at a very young age! ;) (Evan is my brother's friend's son.) Here he is watching and having an awesome freak-out while watching PS22's recent appearance on Sesame Street singing "Somebody Come & Play!"
