Breaking It Up

While putting together this fun and amazing song by Lykke Li at rehearsal today, the PS22 Chorus of 2011 was visited by former chorus member Josh from our 2004 group. So of course, we put him to work! Josh has the distinction of being the only third grader to ever join the ranks of the PS22 Chorus. I remember being blown away by his soulful and powerful voice even back then, and he has only improved with age. It was honor to make music again with Josh after all these years, and we thank him for returning to the PS22 auditorium after so many years to inspire our 2011 members. We predict big things to come for this young man!

Thanks to Ms. Laurie for filming, Mr. Eberle for his excellent guitar work, and Mr. Marquis for his brilliant drumming!

PS22 Chorus wins Common Sense Media Award!!

The PS22 Chorus opened the ceremony at the 7th Annual Common Sense Media Awards last night at Gotham Hall in Manhattan with their amazing rendition of "Firework" by Katy Perry! Afterwards, the group received its award along with President Bill Clinton, iCarly actress Miranda Cosgrove, and former NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. The kids also had the pleasure of meeting the extremely gracious Chelsea Clinton and Juju Chang while at the event. Check out all the amazing pics (most of them courtesy of Getty Images) and the beautiful video filmed by Ms. Laurie below!

The Bangles perform with PS22 Chorus at Tribeca Film Festival!

The PS22 Chorus of 2011 had another great thrill yesterday, kicking off the opening ceremony of the the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival singing "Walk Like An Egyptian" with The Bangles themselves!! Although in this particular case, nobody was more thrilled than the music teacher, as the Bangles were my favorite band in high school! The group was definitely instrumental in the development of my love for harmony and they remain a huge influence! It was wonderful to hear that they are now big fans of the kids and have been following their accomplishments! Susanna Hoffs & Vicki Peterson were completely gracious -- insisting we do it the PS22 Chorus way, and adapting their original melody to our arrangement. The performance was introduced by the extraordinary (and extraordinarily cool) actor, Denis Leary! Chorus member Marquis joined in on the drums and was a bona fide rock star tonight adding tremendously to the remarkable performance!

During the soundcheck, while experiencing some technical difficulties, we broke out into a spontaneous version of "Manic Monday" and even a little bit of "Eternal Flame." So much fun! Mr. B's dad even get's a shout out from Susanna Hoffs!

Big thanks to Craig Hatkoff for this amazing invitation and introducing us to the Bangles! Also thanks go to Mrs. Johnson for filming and to Victor & Bonnie Breinberg for the fantastic pictures that accompany this post! Also thanks to our fantastic friend Perez Hilton for posting the performance on his blog with extremely kind words, particularly to the praiseworthy performance of Marquis!

Biggest thanks certainly go to Vicki and Susanna for spending a wonderful day with us, and we are definitely hoping to make music with The Bangles again in the near future! Check out more pics below!

PS22 Chorus Meets The Bangles





Soundcheck






The performance!





Denis Leary poses with PS22!


Mr. B with his long-time heroes of harmony!

And just for fun, here are some pics from when I met the Bangles previously... about 20 years ago!! It's amazing how life can come full circle.

Alexa Woodward & PS22 Chorus

The PS22 Chorus was visited by the incredibly talented folk artist Alexa Woodward yesterday who shared her talent and good energy with all of us. Check out the two beautiful songs that came out of this collaboration below!

Thanks to Alexa for taking the time to visit and share your beautiful music with us! Also thanks to Ms. Lisa & Ms. Laurie for the beautiful vids and pics (respectively)! More pics below from our wonderful afternoon with Alexa below!

PS22 Chorus sings for Japan on NHK TV

Trying to do their part to lift the spirits of a country in turmoil, the PS22 Chorus kids gave an exclusive reprisal of their winning Oscar performance on NHK Television in Japan. It was shot and broadcast live this morning on Good Morning Japan, and the feedback for the kids' performance and heartfelt messages has been tremendous. For this we are deeply honored.

Thanks to Rosa Sobrino for filming this! And thanks to Ms. Laurie for the pics.

Rolling in the Deep

The PS22 Chorus, featuring the one and only Denise on lead vocals, smash Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" out of the park!! LOVIN' this!! And proud to add the kids learned, recorded, and delivered this performance all today!

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the beautiful filming!

UPDATE: Thanks to our amazing friend and supporter Perez Hilton for his extremely kind blog post about the new vid!

UPDATE 2 (4-13-11): Adele herself has stamped her seal of approval on the PS22 Chorus cover of "Rolling in the Deep" with a resounding "YESSSSSSS!"

UPDATE 3 (4-14-11): The latest video from PS22 is also garnering lots of YouTube honors including the #12 Most Viewed Music Video today!!

PS22 Chorus Joins Eric Whitacre & Friends at Lincoln Center!

Today the PS22 Chorus was part of yet another prestigious performance as featured guest artist at the Eric Whitacre & Friends Concert" at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. The show was held at Avery Fisher Hall, and the kids opened the show with a setlist of 5 songs that they performed beautifully to an enthusiastic audience! You can see the entire performance below, which includes some great bonus footage of Eric Whitacre visiting before showtime -- seriously cool dude.

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the great job filming, especially when considering how far away from the stage she was. And thanks to Victor & Bonnie Breinberg for the great pics! More below...

Price Tag

The PS22 Chorus kids had a fun rehearsal today preparing for their upcoming appearance at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center with Eric Whitacre this Sunday! For an energy boost, we worked out this short version of Jessie J's hit "Price Tag" which the kids took all the way!

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the great filming and title pic!

PS22 Chorus To Perform this Sunday at Lincoln Center!

From the DCINY Newsletter:

PS22 Chorus of Staten Island

YouTube Sensation PS22 Chorus Will Perform with DCINY

The Youtube sensation PS22 Chorus will be onstage with DCINY on April 10th! Sharing the stage with composers Eric Whitacre and Greg Gilpin, PS22 will be featured in a very special appearance -- their Avery Fisher Hall debut!

Join DCINY for this exciting afternoon of music on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 2:00PM in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.

PS22 Chorus Nominated for MTV O Music Award!

Very exciting news! The PS22 Chorus has been nominated in the category of Best Fan Cover for the first-ever MTV O Music Awards, honoring music delivered via the internet! You can cast your vote for PS22 Chorus's classic cover of "Lisztomania" by Phoenix after clicking on this link! In the meantime, any help spreading the word is appreciated! You can check out the video below in case you missed it the first time around....

Daniel

The PS22 Chorus of 2011 sings ever so sweetly on the beautiful Elton John ballad, "Daniel." Congrats to Adham on his solo debut, and what a phenomenal job he did on such a difficult part. Certainly one of the more poignant additions to the kids' repertoire....

Beautifully filmed by our wonderful Ms. Lisa!