"The Boy With Pink Hair" by Perez Hilton (UPDATED)

PS22 pays tribute to its best friend and avid supporter Perez Hilton by bringing his beautiful best-selling children's book with a timeless message to life! Perhaps the most fun we've ever had creating a video -- the kids acted, sang, and even co-wrote this fantastic production! You may have noticed a lull in our posting schedule the past few weeks. This is attributed to the fact that the chorus (and the classes involved) have been hard at work putting this short film together. We hope you love it as much as we do, and agree that it's been worth the wait! With that in mind, PS22 is extremely proud to present "The Boy With Pink Hair" by Perez Hilton, and we dedicate this project to you, Mr. P. Thanks for all the love, support, inspiration, and friendship. No one has done more for our children than you. It has been your continued support that kept the mind-blowing opportunities coming for our children. You've directly had a hand in changing many lives here in Staten Island, and of course all over the world as well. We are blessed to have you as part of our PS22 family!

We think the kids AND the staff that were kind enough to donate their time made this an extra-special PS22 performance! Leave a comment and let us know what YOU think!!

UPDATE 4-18-12: Check out this awesome acknowledgement from Perez AND also a tweet from Celtic Woman (who makes a musical cameo in the film) below!

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UPDATE (5-6-12): PS22 Chorus received 100 signed books from Perez for all the kids who participated in the production!! What a class act! Here's a video of the kids saying thank you that was filmed on my cell phone!

Ingrid Michaelson Is Somebody That I Used To Know

Last month the PS22 Chorus was visited by fellow Staten Islander Ingrid Michaelson to make a video promoting music education for DoSomething.org and its Battle For The Bands project in conjunction with VH1 Save The Music Foundation! After we finished recording the two songs we had planned, we decided to have some impromptu fun with a song that both our respective acts have had success covering -- Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know!"

SOLD OUT!!!

Tickets for the Tribeca premiere of Once In A Lullaby - The PS22 Chorus Story has sold out within only two hours after tickets went on sale this morning!! Super-exciting!!

Ticket Sales for PS22 Chorus Documentary

Advance ticket sales for PS22 Chorus Documentary at Tribeca Film Festival start tomorrow for American Express cardholders!! Check out all the details here!

PS22 Chorus is Still Crazy After All These Years

Before the PS22 Chorus of 2011 performed at the Academy Awards ceremony last year, they were visited by Linda Saffire & Steve Rosenthal, who filmed and edited a very memorable video that was shown before the kids did their Red Carpet interview. Since then, I have stayed in touch with Linda, who is an amazing person. Recently, she and Steve's wife Peggy contacted me, asking to see if we could surprise Steve with one of his favorite songs, "Still Crazy After All These Year" by Paul Simon in honor of his anniversary. Here are the magnificent results!

Once in a Lullaby Trailer!!

This afternoon the Gothamist debuted the official trailer for "Once In A Lullaby: The PS22 Chorus Story!" Check it out below and leave comments to tell us your thoughts about this first glimpse of the upcoming documentary set to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 29th!

Beyonce & Perez Start Over

Thanks to the our friend Perez Hilton, it seems the PS22 Chorus has once again reached the ears of Beyonce! (Check out our first encounter with Ms. B at the Billboard Women in History Awards where the chorus sang "Halo" for her, her parents, and even Lady Gaga too!) Perez had posted about Kiarah and the chorus's amazing rendition of the song "Start Over" (performed at the New Yorkers for New York Gala last month) yesterday, and later that day, it showed up on Beyonce's official website!! Check out the screenshots below....

Edge of the Moon

PS22 Chorus returns to its roots with this stunningly beautiful version of "Edge of the Moon" by Tori Amos, one of my favorites from her latest album, Night Of Hunters. The full chorus is simply otherworldly here and soloist Faith is glorious on a most difficult solo part in which she stays right on top of Tori's complex chord changes. And then there's that coda.... Awesomeness!

 UPDATE (7-12-12):  Here is an updated version with much better audio than that originally posted.

PS22 Chorus & Ingrid Michaelson are 'Blood Brothers' in Support of Music Education!

A couple of weeks back, PS22 Chorus teamed up with fellow Staten Islander Ingrid Michaelson to help support DoSomething.org's Battle of the Bands' (in conjunction with VH1's Save The Music) efforts to promote music education.... The kids speak as poignantly and genuinely as they sing, and certainly drive the point home on the importance of music in schools.

You can check out an alternate uninterrupted performance of "Blood Brothers" and a lilting version of Ingrid's hit "The Way I Am" with PS22 below!

UPDATE (4-16-12): Just added: This awesome version of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," as song with which both Ingrid and the chorus have previously covered independently!

Below are some more fantastic pics (courtesy of Ms. Lisa & Ms. Laurie) from our wonderful afternoon with Ingrid below!

PS22 CHORUS Documentary to be Premiered At TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL!!

Amazing news!! This afternoon, a press release announced the long-awaited arrival of the PS22 Chorus documentary, Once In A Lullaby, AND that it will be premiering in April at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival!! Although the film's focus is on the 2011 Chorus's journey to the Oscars, that story just serves to tell a bigger one -- the life-changing effect music education has on our children. So proud to be a part of it, and so excited for it to be seen. Following the premiere, there will be a panel discussion on the importance of music education and incorporating technology in the classroom that will feature Paul King (Executive Director of the Arts for the Dept. of Education), the film's director Jonathan Kalafer, Mr. B, and more! More details to come for sure, but in the meantime, you can check out two great articles from Variety and Indiewire that delivered the incredible news! And (if you haven't already) make sure to 'like' and follow the play by play of the film's release at Jonathan's Once In A Lullaby Facebook page! Stay tuned!

PS22 Chorus of 2012 performs National Anthem for NY Rangers @ MSG!

Last night, the PS22 Chorus had a blast at Madison Square Garden singing the national anthem to kick off the NY Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres game! Kids did a FANTASTIC job on this updated full chorus arrangement! They also got to meet and film a TV spot with PS22 Chorus fan April Wilkner! Check out the performance and some great pics below! Thanks to Greg Kwiziak for having us, Ms. Lisa for filming, and Ms. Laurie (and again Ms. Lisa) for the awesome pics!

PS22 Chorus Test Drives "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin!

PS22 Chorus takes on Janis Joplin's iconic a cappella song "Mercedes Benz" for the win! (The song was co-written by Janis and poets Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth.) We added some acoustic guitar to our version and updated the lyrics a bit for 2012.... Proud to say the kids learned this only yesterday, when this performance was filmed!