Double Ashton....

Congrats to the new PS22 Chorus of 2010, who already have gotten themselves noticed by our friend, Ashton Kutcher, who just the other day linked to our "Just Dance" video from last year's group! (See previous post.) This time he tweeted about the new group and linked to the kids' rendition of "FAME," posted just last week! Way to go kids! This is the first time a debut video by ANY chorus has gotten recognition. Sure sign of good things to come from this group. And just wait until you see what's coming....

To check out more Ashton Kutcher PS22 Twitter action click here.

Ashton to Ashton, Aplusk to Aplusk

Thanks to our boy Ashton Kutcher, who tweeted again about his favorite fifth graders once again just a few minutes ago, linking to the PS22 Chorus version of "Just Dance!" Check out more Ashton PS22 Chorus tweets here!

AWE-some!

A really flattering article was to be found in today's Staten Island Advance's AWE section! Thanks to Ben Johnson for such a fantastic write-up! You can read it in the scans below or on SILIVE.com!

pic below from SILIVE.com

10 MILLION!

CONGRATS to the PS22 Chorus kids for reaching a new plateau! As of today, there have been over 10,000,000 viewings of PS22 Chorus videos!! Who could have ever imagined?!

To celebrate this amazing accomplishment, we present the new TOP 10 PS22 Chorus YouTube videos:

#10 EVERYBODY'S CHANGING (YouTube Views: 173,012)


#9 FLYING DUTCHMAN (YouTube Views: 178,653)


#8 PS22 sings for TORI AMOS (YouTube Views: 203,624)


#7 PICTURES OF YOU (YouTube Views: 251,614)


#6 1000 OCEANS (YouTube Views: 266,097)


#5 DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' (YouTube Views: 310,174)


#4 LANDSLIDE (YouTube Views: 365,978)


#3 VIVA LA VIDA (YouTube Views: 787,588)


#2 EYE OF THE TIGER (YouTube Views: 828,451)


#1 JUST DANCE (YouTube Views: 1,049,863)

WOR RADIO & JOAN HAMBURG!

Today, new chorus members Neil and Sarah had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by Joan Hamburg on her weekday WOR broadcast. Check out the PS22 Chorus segment of the broadcast below, or download the entire podcast on the WOR website.

The kids did a great job on their first radio show, and Joan was a delight to speak with as well! Big thanks to her and her production staff (particularly Natalie) for having us on the show today!

A Spotlight Video!!

The PS22 Chorus is going to be featured all day today on YouTube's home page as a spotlight video! YouTube chose to go with the cover of "Pictures of You" by The Cure. We think it was a great choice, and here it is below! Thanks to YouTube for giving the kids such awesome exposure!

PS22 Chorus Receives COAHSI Award!

CONGRATS to the PS22 Chorus kids throughout the years for making this happen! You can read the article above or on the SILIVE.com website.

Viva la DIVA!

On Thursday night, Ms. Lisa and I were lucky enough to attend the VH1 DIVAS 2009 concert at Brooklyn Academy of Music! The show, as many of you I'm sure have seen by now, was absolutely spectacular! The line-up included, Jennifer Hudson, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Jordin Sparks, and Miley Cyrus! Special guests included Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, India Arie and an assortment of others. Hosted by Paula Abdul, we were treated to one great performance after the next! But I must admit, the coolest part of the show was when the big screen went down just before they went to break, and we got to see 2 amazing performances by the PS22 Chorus -- "Chasing Pavements" by Adele, and "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. Allie and Tirzah did the soloing and to say they rocked the mike would be the understatement of the year!! Seeing the chorus among the musical greats, and seeing the crowd's reaction to the chorus, certainly ranks among the proudest moments of my career. The kids filmed the songs on September 8, the day before they embark upon new adventures in intermediate school.

Also cool was running into our new friends from the cast of FAME, who lit up when they talked about how amazing a day they had with the NEW PS22 Chorus of 2010! We saw Naturi Naughton before the performance, who just last week tweeted about the phenomenal day with the kids at PS22. After the show, we also ran into cast members Asher Book, Kherington Payne , and Walter Perez, all pictured above. Asher and Kherington, who also attended the event at PS22 last week were just gushing about the kids, and were so happy to have had the experience.

The DIVAS concert re-airs all weekend on VH1, so check your local listings if you missed it the first time around! And there's also a great article being featured on MTV's site about the chorus's participation in the show.

Who's The Boss? ALYSSA MILANO!!

Actress Alyssa Milano just became the newest member to the ranks of celebrity fans of the PS22 Chorus! Yesterday she tweeted about the chorus (see above screencap) on her Twitter page, linked to our video of "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay, and called the kids "AWESOME!"

Make sure you tune in to the VH1 DIVAS special tonight to see just how amazing they really are!!

ADVANCE NOTICE!

Thanks to the Staten Island Advance for sharing these pictures from our amazing FAME presentation at PS22, featuring the debut performance by our new PS22 Chorus of 2010! There are more amazing pics from the event taken by the Advance photographer that you can see here.

PS22 Chorus on VH1 DIVAS Special Tomorrow!!

HUGE news!!! The PS22 Chorus of 2009 will be making their final appearance together tomorrow night (Thursday) on the VH1 DIVAS 2009 special, airing from 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM on VH1!!! (Check your local listings for exact time and channel.) VH1 pre-recorded the kids last Tuesday at the school, and the kids are expected to be featured sporatically throughout the broadcast singing songs by the various DIVAS that will be performing tomorrow night! So this is one farewell performance that CANNOT BE MISSED!!!

In addition to hearing the amazing sounds of the full chorus, you'll also be hearing from some of your favorite PS22 Chorus 2009 soloists! So until tomorrow, we leave you with our own PS22 Chorus DIVAS 2009 video that we made ourselves (just for fun!) in Central Park at the kids' performance in August! TUNE IN TOMORROW!!!

UPDATE: Big thanks to our biggest supporter, Perez Hilton, who posted his congrats to the PS22 Chorus kids for their upcoming VH1 DIVAS appearance on his blog! Awesome!

FAME Comes to PS22 CHORUS of 2010!

Today the NEW PS22 Chorus of 2010 got a visit from Naturi Naughton, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kherington Payne, and Asher Book -- the castmembers from the upcoming major motion picture, FAME! The kids sang with Naturi on the title song of the film, and it was a blast! With just a few DAYS into the new school year, it's hard to believe the kids were able to pull this performance off as well as they did! Sure signs of good things to come!

In addition to the actors, on hand to present a $30,000 check for a new keyboard lab to PS22 were FAME director Kevin Tancharoen, VH1 Save The Music Foundation Executive Director Paul Cothran, and Director Of Music for New York City Department of Education Barbara Murray.

It was great to see the new chorus make such an impact on our guests! You could see the delight in their faces at the exuberant singing of the all-new PS22 Chorus!

Naturi even tweeted about the kids on her Twitter page after it was all over!

NY1 was also on hand to film the event and you can watch their coverage of the event here.

Big thanks to everyone at VH1, MGM, and of course the cast of FAME for both the incredible donation and for giving our kids a day they'll never forget! See some more great pictures below!

Short E!

A new PS22 Chorus kid-filled Electric Company video has been uploaded by Electric Company's YouTube channel. Once you've watched it, check out more Electric Company vids featuring the PS22 Chorus here, and some awesome behind-the-scenes footage from the August and June 2008 shoots.

UPDATE: Just found this one too, another debut to the blog, 'ight?

September 11th 2009

On this day, I can't help but remember how grateful I am to be a teacher at PS22. When I first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center, I was in the school, teaching a music class. Mrs. Rehak came in and told me what happened, and I suppose life has really never been the same since. I learned later that day my neighbor, Grace, who I graduated high school with, was lost on that day. Thinking of her today, thinking of the the so many people that died.... This performance, finally posted in the quality it deserves, is dedicated to them. If ever children represented the voice of hope, here it is.

FAME!

Lately, the PS22 Chorus kids truly have been getting a taste of fame!! And now, VH1's Save The Music Foundation has teamed up with MGM Sudios and the cast of the new movie, FAME, to donate a $30,000 keyboard lab to PS22!! And as if that news weren't amazing enough, several cast members will be coming to visit PS22 to make a presentation to the school, with a little help from the upcoming PS22 Chorus of 2010! You can be sure they'll be more to follow on this amazing story! A heartfelt thanks to VH1, MGM, the cast of FAME, Dr. Jim Frankel of Soundtree (education division of Korg), and of course the PS22 Chorus for their respective parts in making this incredible thing happen.

You can read the press release below:

****MEDIA ALERT****

MGM STUDIOS AND THE CAST OF
“FAME”
TO DONATE $30,000 TO THE
VH1 SAVE THE MUSIC FOUNDATION

What: On September 14th, MGM Studios and members of the cast of the new movie “FAME” will present VH1 Save The Music Foundation school PS 22 with a $30,000 donation to restore the school’s instrumental music education program. The presentation will feature a special performance by the PS 22 choir, led by select cast members from “FAME,” in theaters September 25th.

The choir at PS 22 shot to fame with their incredible rendition of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” earning them the nickname “The Singing School.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_tcE4rWovI

Who: Members from the cast of “FAME”, including Asher Book, Naturi Naughton, Kherington Payne, Anna Maria Perez De Tagle and director Kevin Tancharoen; VH1 Save the Music Foundation executives, and the students.

Where: P.S. 22 Graniteville

When: September 14, 2009 at 11:00 AM

**Media Coverage Invited**

Dot to Dot!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking about my experience with the PS22 Chorus with talk radio host, Catherine Bradford, on her weekly show, Dot To Dot, broadcast over in Seattle Radio WRS, and worldwide over the internet. Catherine is definitely a kindred spirit, as evidenced by her mission statement for the radio series, which could have just as easily been a mission statement for the PS22 Chorus! The interview was an hour long, and a lot of ground is covered. So if you've got some time, kick back take a listen. This broadcast is also archived for download on the Dot to Dot website.

A Rousing Performance from 2004!

Don't know why these were never posted to the blog. These are two of all-time favorites performed at a NYC Dept. Of Education/YMCA sponsored event. The kids sang, "A Song For You" by Donnie Hathaway and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Ashford & Simpson. Deon, the power-house soprano, literally had the audience gasping by the end. And chorus legend Clive gave his trademark soulful performance and suited the song perfectly! Check 'em out!