The Chorus Gets A Message From TWO Amazing Super-Groups!!!

Despite having a little vacation for President's week, it has been an exciting week for the chorus!! We got 2 differents sets of "thumbs up" for our performances of our covers of Crowded House's song "Private Universe" and Alpha's "Blue Autumn"! Here are their respective messages....

Neil Finn (lead singer of Crowded House):

"I wanted to send a note to say how delighted I was to hear and see the PS22 Choir performing my song."

"It's a fantastic arrangement and they look like they are having such a great time.
Thank you so much for making my day."

Corin Dingley (of Alpha):

"We came across [your video of Blue Autumn] and are quite overwhelmed. Corin of Alpha is quite humbled by it. It was really lovely to watch."

"Yes it really touched me, the kids have sung it so well they must be really pleased with themselves. Really fantastic, by far the best 'remix' we have ever had.

Cheers
Corin"

This is indeed a testament to the amazing work the chorus has been doing over the years, and a great thrill for all involved! Big thanks to Neil and Corin for taking the time to recognize the kids and their dedication to their music! As Corin said, you kids should be really pleased with yourselves! Big congratulations to the chorus!!!!

In case you missed these videos, here they are:

Crowded House's Private Universe:


Alpha's Blue Autumn:
VIDEO DOWN

We're Brothers Forever....REMIX!!!

Recently, an unbelievable musician by the name of Barry Leitch contacted me, interested in recording a remix of Renaldo Lapuz and The PS22 Chorus singing "We're Brothers Forever", the soon-to-be hit song from this season's American Idol!! All together, the remixes we produced for Renaldo's song have scored over 30,000 hits!

The chorus got to see and hear the remix for the first time today, and needless to say, EVERYONE was blown away!! So here are the long awaited mp3s of Renaldo Lapuz's original song:

Renaldo Lapuz & PS22 Chorus "We're Brothers Forever" EPIC remix
(Music & Remix by Barry Leitch)

"We're Brothers Forever" CHORUS remix
(Music by Barry Leitch, Vocal Remix by Gregg Breinberg)

PS22 Chorus "We're Brothers Forever" a capella version

We're Brothers Forever remix RINGTONE

And last, but not last, here is the AMAZING video also created by Barry for his amazing EPIC mix, featuring Renaldo and the Chorus.....

More American Idol.....

With all the excitement about the new season of American Idol (as well as our new video of Renaldo Lapuz's, "I Am Your Brother" which has been getting a lot of internet attention -- over 3000 views in only 3 days!!), I decided to add a new link to the sidebar of the blog for highlights from our OWN American Idol competitions from 2003 and 2005. Both shows featured some mind-blowing talent and performances!

To celebrate the debut of our new showcase feature, here is a newly added clip of Noshavyah's amazing audition of the Deniece Williams classic, "Silly" from 2003. BRILLIANT!

We're On Our Brother Renaldo's Website!

Last night, I sent Renaldo Lapuz (the American Idol 7 hopeful responsible for the soon-to-be hit song "We're Brothers Forever") the link to our version of his infectious tune. I thought he would get a kick out of seeing just how much the kids got into it! (If you haven't seen yourself, scroll down to the previous post.) So this morning I got a response from Renaldo:

"I love it! I will put it towards the top of the front page shortly so
visitors from all over the world can enjoy it!"

"Tell the kids WONDERFUL job and that they will be responsible for make
thousands from across the world smile tomorrow!"

"Thank you all my brothers and sisters!!!"

We appreciate the message from Renaldo, and thank him for his uplifting and inescapable tune! And by the way, true to his word, Renaldo has the PS22 Chorus version of his song featured as the first video on his webpage www.renaldolapuz.com !!!!

"We're Brothers Forever"

Okay, don't say you weren't warned! (See previous post.) Here is the rather amusing and catchy (like a disease) song by Renaldo Lapuz, the memorable auditioning American Idol Season 7 hopeful who certainly earned his 15 minutes of fame. The kids learned Renaldo's song today, I filmed it, and now we bring it to you....

VIDEO DOWN

Okay, on behalf of the entire chorus, I humbly and sincerely apologize for the above video.... Just kidding! We love you Renaldo! Keep singing the songs, the music that you li-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!

**Update 2-5-08**
Download mp3s and watch the remix of "We're Brothers Forever" featuring the PS22 Chorus"

It's coming......

......the song you've been eagerly dreading....

But in the meantime, here are some pics we took today while recording the small group version (yes, we recorded two versions....) in the morning. Here are Isaiah, Isaac, and Justin with Angela, Allie, and Sandrea.

Come Peak Inside Our "Private Universe!"

Here is a beautiful song by the New Zealand group, Crowded House, called "Private Universe." It has always been a favorite of mine, and it occurred to me, that it would make a phenomenal song for the chorus. Soloist Kareem & the rest of the group prove me right!

Three Quarters of a MILLION Chorus Videos & Counting....

The kids have reached another milestone today, as they celebrate 750,000 viewings of PS22 Chorus videos over the internet! An amazing accomplishment for any musician, and that much more for public elementary school children! Congrats!

Chorus: Generations....

Recently, I was happily surprised to be contacted by one of my favorite students from way back in the day -- the school year of 1998-1999 at P.S.60 to be precise, when and where I started my teaching career. Andrew Canlon always had a phenomenal voice, and was a soloist at his graduation. These days he's taking his talent to a whole new level. At 19 years old, Andrew has been writing and recording some phenomenal music with his band, O'Canlon. Andrew was kind enough to send me his band's CD, titled "VALOR". The title track (and the entire CD) blew me away! I felt it would be a perfect song for the chorus to cover. So today, I recorded the chorus performing "Valor" after only 3 rehearsals. They sound incredible, and we're cautiously optimistic that Andrew and his bandmates will approve of our rendition! We're looking forward to a possible visit from Andrew in June, and hopefully we'll be able to record a version with the man himself when the time comes. We thank Andrew for sharing this great song, and for being an inspiration for the entire chorus, including the director of course. Talk about life coming full circle....

In the meantime, here is the song "Valor" as performed by the PS22 Chorus:

Got the "Christmas Blues"? Watch Selections From The 2007 Holiday Choral Concert!

The chorus received a well-deserved standing ovation on Thursday night, when the children performed at their first major concert of the season! The fourth grade chorus also made a startling debut, and showed that the future of the PS22 Chorus was in good hands! Check out some video highlights below, then read on for more!

And now for the play by play!!


After the the fourth graders raised the roof with their six holiday selections, it was time for the PS22 Chorus to take the stage! Kareem gave the concert a jump start with the "22 Rap", and proved that even technical difficulties couldn't hold him back from doing his thing! Way to go, kid!


Then Andrew and Zarmeen introduced the song that had the audience grooving and roaring with laughter! Andrew did his usual outstanding job on John Lee Hooker's "Christmas Blues"!


The group proceeded to sing a beautiful rendition of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Then onto a PS22 Chorus website debut -- last year's prodigious chorus member Justin & Mr. B's original song, "Differences". You can hear the original version which Justin and I improvised during a rehearsal last year by clicking here.

"Differences" led into three of the other major holidays being celebrated this season -- Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Eid. Leslie, Vivian, and Jarred introduced the songs for this segment of the show.


The chorus did a particularly beautiful job on an original tune that I put to the seven principles of Kwanzaa. After the "Seven Principles," the next segment of our show was a tribute to September 11th, featuring songs we performed in October at TributeWTC, the World Trade Center Museum.


Currently the museum is featuring an original PS22 film as part of its children's exhibit.


A high honor indeed and a testament to the heart and soul the children at PS22 put into everything they do.


The audience was visibly moved by these numbers in particular, and you won't be left wondering why after you watch these performances!



The chorus concluded its set with Isaiah doing his unstoppable rendition of the Chuck Berry classic, "Run Run Rudolph"!!

Isaiah is just a natural and tears up the floor, leaving the audience hungry for more! That's how we do it!

Every great performance deserves an encore, and the chorus gave the audience just that! Kindergartener Alicea came to the stage to gasps and awe, as she lead the fourth and fifth grade choruses AND the audience in a rousing rendition of "Jingle Bells"! Her voice is amazing and further proof that the future of the PS22 Chorus is in the best of little hands!

The audience was simply outstanding, and it was a thrill to see our former principal Mrs. Karina Costantino among the happy spectators!

Also wonderful to see former chorus members and PS22 students coming back to celebrate the holidays with the old family, such as the super-talented dynamic duo, Deon & Clive...

the extraordinary Ben...


and Fabian, Crystal, Beatrice, Carmelo, and the rest of the gang!


What better way to usher in the holidays?


So happy Hannukah...


...enjoy Eid...


...have a wonderful Kwanzaa...


and a very Merry Christmas from the PS22 Chorus!!

They're On TV Again!!

It's no surprise that the chorus did a phenomenal job at this year's holiday choral concerts for Channel SI76! And you can catch it for yourselves if you're a Staten Islander. The concerts, including 18 choruses from Staten Island schools, will debut on Christmas Eve, and play from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM. And they will run all day on Christmas from 12:00 PM to 12:00AM. You can also see them NOW on OnDemand Channel 1111. Once there, just go to the "Special Events" menu and select "Chorals". We are the first group to perform on program #6.

So break out the eggnog, and come celebrate this Christmas with the PS22 Chorus!

The Chorus Sing For My Nana!

Today, the chorus sang at the Sunrise Assisted Living home for the elderly, and brightened the holidays for all in attendance (including my nana)!! The chorus did its usual outstanding job and brought smiles and tears to an enraptured audience! It was wonderful to see the children be able to bring some truly happy moments to these wonderful and appreciative seniors!