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: