No One Can Save You

PS22 Chorus presents a quirky little tune by an emerging talent, Elle King, called "No One Can Save You." Soloist Jenesis is an absolute revelation, and the entire chorus is right on point with some amazingly tight harmonies! Also proud to add that everyone (including Jenesis) learned the song and their parts only yesterday just before we filmed! Loving this little jam....

UPDATE: Thanks to Elle King for the fantastic praise she's bestowed on the PS22 Chorus cover of her song via Facebook and Twitter!

UPDATE: Thanks to our friend Perez Hilton for plugging the video as well!

It's Not Over

Love this song, this band, and this rendition... Here is "It's Not Over" by indie pop/rock act Dinner And A Suit performed by the kids of the PS22 Chorus, and it's definitely one of their best! Thanks to Aaron for lending a hand on the bongo, Matthew V. for the sweet soloing, and Ms. Lisa for filming a beautiful video to complement such a beautiful performance!

Thanks to Dinner And A Suit for tweeting and posting this video to their Facebook page with kind praise!

PS22 Chorus ROCKS The 2013 Presidential Inauguration!

On Monday, the PS22 Chorus had the distinct honor of opening the 2013 Presidential Inauguration at the Capitol Building in Washington DC following the invitation we received a few months back from Senator Chuck Schumer via Twitter!! Words cannot express how proud and honored we all felt to be part of such a prestigious ceremony, not only to witness but to actually take part in history being made.  the kids made the most of the opportunity, singing their hearts out like never before! Need proof? Check out 3 of the 4 songs the kids performed below, including "Home" by Phillip Phillips, "On Top Of The World" by Imagine Dragons (featuring awesome cameos from John Mayer & Katy Perry who stopped by to congratulate the kids), and a gorgeous version of "One Dream" by Sarah McLachlan!
 

The kids have continued to receive some amazing feedback from media sources and celebrities alike for their brilliant performance on Inauguration Day! Imagine Dragons posted on their Facebook page today that they "were honored by the rendition." Katy Perry's photo diary from her appearance at the ceremony, which was posted today on Vogue.com, included a pic of her with the PS22 Chorus with the caption, "Ran into my little Fireworks, the PS22 Chorus before the Inauguration." GOOD.com posted a wonderful review of PS22's performance of "One Dream," saying "now that the Inauguration is over, let's hope Americans keep listening to the voices of these wonderful schoolchildren and take the words they're singing to heart."

It was an exhausting but epic and thoroughly rewarding adventure, and we're so grateful to Ms. Lisa for capturing these performances which will forever be there to bring back these treasured memories. The Inaugural Committee has assured us that professional video and pics will be forthcoming, so we're going to hold out on posting the final PS22 performance of the morning, a mind-blowing and heart-rending version of "God Bless The USA" by Lee Greenwood melded with "America, The Beautiful", in hopes that we will be able to post it from the footage they send us. Definitely it is something to look forward to! In the meantime check out these AMAZING pics from the kids' and President Barack Obama's big day courtesy of Victor Breinberg, Bonnie Breinberg & Ms. Lisa, Mrs. Panzella, and Mr. Carollo! (For more pics and some clips of the kids on the news (CBS, NBC, PIX, etc.), check out our Facebook page.

"Clouds" by Zach Sobiech

"Clouds" was written by a truly inspiring young man named Zach Sobiech. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an often deadly bone cancer that affects many kids, and was recently given a prognosis of only months to live. Only 17 years old, Zach was able to transform his pain into inspiration by writing this beautiful song. I shared it with the chorus as well as his story, and the kids really wanted to do this for him. Thanks to Taliah for making this dedication extra special with her beautiful soloing, and to one of our former chorus members, Matthew from the 2006 group, for bringing my attention to the song. And of course biggest thanks go to Zach for reminding us all that there is always courage, hope, and beauty to be found, even within the depths of despair.

UPDATE: Thanks to Zach for his kind acknowledgement via Twitter!

Don't You Worry Child

We are so thrilled with the amazing reception our 'duet' with Ithacappella on "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia (ft. John Martin)! For any and all interested, here is the original PS22 Chorus arrangement of the song before mixing it up with the amazingly talented gentlemen from Ithaca College! We're quite proud of both renditions....

Ithacappella & PS22 Chorus Reunite!

Yesterday, PS22 Chorus was treated to its annual visit from our "older brothers," Ithacappella! A musical explosion of epic proportion ensued, as both groups debuted and fused together our respective arrangements of "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia!  Afterwards, the kids (featuring some amazing soloing by Matthew T. and Ithacappella's Peter) joined in on a spontaneous and unrehearsed version of Ithacappella's version of "Payphone" by Maroon 5!  Check out both amazing performances below!

UPDATE: Swedish House Mafia posted the "Don't You Worry Child" video on their Facebook page with some kind words including, "massively talented!" Indeed!! It's also been acknowledged by some big media, including VIBE Magazine's website, who named it "Video of The Day!" Congrats to the kiddos involved, young and old!

UPDATE (1-16-13): The love just keeps coming for this video! Below are only a handful of some amazing tweets from some prominent peeps, including Sebastian Ingrosso from Swedish House Mafia and John Martin!

PS22 Chorus Joins Carrie Underwood On Stage!

On Saturday, December 1st, the PS22 Chorus of 2013 kids had the thrill of joining Carrie Underwood onstage at her concert at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey! After performing "So Small" in our very own auditorium this past May with our 2012 group, Carrie has obviously kept PS22 Chorus on her radar, as evidenced by this invitation, PS22's recent cameo appearance on her VH1 Behind The Music special, and her recent tweet showing love for the performance this year's chorus did (with former 2009 member Allie) of her song, "Blown Away!"  UPDATE: Check out the performance from Newark below in this beautifully filmed and edited video, kindly sent to us by Carrie Underwood's management!

The performance has gotten rave reviews from many popular entertainment media sources, including (among many others) JustJared.com and Z100's Elvis Duran And The Morning Show! Check out some amazing pictures of the kids from the performance and from soundcheck courtesy of our friend and photographer, Scott Vollweiler!

Merry Christmas!!

Truly the happiest day of the year for the PS22 Chorus is when we visit our loving senior community at Sunrise Assisted Living in Staten Island to share in love, joy, and music....  No better post for today to celebrate the holiday!   Merry Christmas to everyone and lots of love to our extended chorus family all over the world!!

We leave you with some more heartwarming pics from our very own Mrs. Panzella!

PS22 Chorus on ANDERSON LIVE Christmas Special!

Tomorrow, the PS22 Chorus of 2013 will be appearing on the nationally syndicated Anderson Live show! (Check your local listings!) The kids will be singing you into every commercial break throughout the one hour Christmas special! Check out this cool video of Anderson Cooper and co-host of the day, Gayle King, singing the praises of PS22!

And below are some great pics from our fun afternoon, courtesy of Ms. Kim! You can even see the kids meeting Bow Wow, who also happened to be in the studio, when he stopped in to our green room to show some love when he heard PS22 Chorus was in the house!

Winter Concert 2012

PS22 Chorus of 2013 gave one of its most memorable Winter Concerts in history with some stunning performances and much-needed good cheer! Among other phenomenal highlights, the concert included three 2013 debuts, including "Silent Night," "This Christmas," and the complete version of "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards!" Two former members, Allie (2009) and Kahlil (2012) showed up as well and reminded us just how fantastically talented they are! (As if we needed a reminder!!) Check out some amazing video highlights below, courtesy of Ms. Lisa!

And we leave you with some fabulous pics courtesy of Victor Breinberg!

PS22 Chorus Sings A Loving Tribute To Sandy Hook School

I am extremely proud of the maturity, empathy, and love displayed yesterday by the PS22 Chorus when the kids recorded this tribute to the children, teachers, and families affected by the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. It was without a doubt the most difficult song for me and the kids to have to teach and learn respectively (for reasons that need not be explained), but in the end, I believe it was important and cathartic for all of us to do this. We hope it brings hope and inspiration to those who need it at this difficult time, and serves as a remembrance to all those who tragically lost their lives last week.

To hear the original version of the Sandy Hook School Song, click here

Joy to the World

We recorded this on my cell phone this morning right after it was taught to the kids. I was going to wait until our next rehearsal to rerecord this on our regular video camera, but after the tragic events at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut today, I just watched and re-watched this video bawling my eyes out. The slightly melancholy arrangement combined with the joyful lyrics lent itself to a poignancy I never intended. But it brings me comfort and hope, whatever is possible after this soul-crushing, senseless act of violence. My hope is that it can do so for others. I am so lucky to work these special young people at PS22, the harbingers of hope, and am so grateful for them on this sad day...