Happy New Year from the PS22 Chorus of 2012!

Check out this incredible newly posted video of an acoustic piano performance of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" with some incredible bonus footage from our 2011 journey to Hollywood! It was an unbelievable 2011 for PS22 Chorus and we look forward to another amazing year! We wish all of our students, families, friends, and fans a brilliant 2012!!

Divina's Farewell Performance

On Friday, the PS22 Chorus of 2012 gave its final performance of our 2011 Winter Concert to the second grade classes and some of the big-wigs from the NYC Dept. of Education. In the audience was Divina's Mini-me, Emma, so we called her up to join her sister on "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" by Arrows (covered famously by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.) It was an adorable moment that we felt compelled to film and post.... Afterwards at rehearsal, we had the sad task of bidding Divina farewell and good luck as Friday marked her final day at PS22. It was an emotional goodbye, but hopefully one that will serve as a reminder to this incredible young lady of the unforgettable impact she has had on ALL of us.

PS22 Chorus Winter Concert 2011!

On Wednesday evening, December 21, 2011, PS22 Chorus of 2012 gave a stunning performance, one amazing song after another, at PS22's 12th Annual Winter Concert! Our fourth and fifth grade groups both gave simply electric performances that brought in the holiday season the best way possible! Below are only some of the incredible highlights!

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for filming and to Victor Breinberg for the fantastic pics on the post! Also huge thanks go to incredible PS22 Chorus alumni, Allie, Deon, and Clive for contributing their respective talents to make this truly an unforgettable night for all in attendance! In addition, we are very grateful to Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff for taking the time to come down and be a part of the festivities, as well as Jonathan Kalafer, the documentary filmmaker who filmed the upcoming PS22 Chorus documentary, tentatively titled, "Once In A Lullaby."

Craig Hatkoff bows to Daniel-san

Jonathan Kalafer bows to Daniel-san

Silent Knight

Here's yet another amazing performance of the Christmas carol, "Silent Night," (another performance from last year's 4th graders at the 2010 Winter Concert) that we had the kids sing to my friend and colleague Mr. Knight (our bongo player in many of our early videos) to get him to lighten up for the holiday season! Maybe it worked, maybe it didn't, but either way it's a beautiful version of this classic traditional song, and Faith is just astounding on the solo!

Pablo The Reindeer

(pic from 2010 PS22 Winter Concert by Victor Breinberg)

After the kids of PS22 Chorus of 2012 performed a dress rehearsal yesterday morning to get ready for their upcoming winter concert tonight, we decided to have a light rehearsal that afternoon, and had lots of fun revisiting some of the songs that the kids did last year as fourth graders at last year's show. Although about half of our current members were not in the chorus last year, they got the songs down quick! This one is "Pablo The Reindeer" by George Lovering, a song I was taught by Mrs. Eleanor Calhoun, MY chorus teacher from way back in intermediate school. Daniel-san did the solo at last year's performance, but this year completely ups the ante and brings the concept of "pop up video" to a whole new level! My personal favorite moments here are his random (and unplanned might I add) pop-ups toward the end! Definitely will provide some laughs for this holiday season!

PS22 Chorus Sings for Seniors at Sunrise!

Yesterday the PS22 Chorus of 2012 serenaded the seniors at Sunrise Assisted Living in Staten Island to help bring in the holiday season in the best way possible! Of course the singing is incidental -- the best part is watching the young and old interact, and seeing how much joy the kids bring to the residents. Such an uplifting day for all involved and I'm so proud of the kids for truly understanding how important this kind of thing is. They are amazing!! I've said it before and I'll say it again -- BEST TRIP OF THE YEAR for the PS22 Chorus!

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for filming, and Ms. Calasso for the pics! You can also see more footage from yesterday's performance on NY1's website by clicking here.

Happy Chanukah from PS22 Chorus!

PS22 Chorus of 2012 brings in Chanukah with this lively beautiful Hebrew traditional song, "Mi Yimalel" ("Who Can Retell?"). And big props to Alexis who does a great job on the solo! PS22 wishes a happy Chanukah to all those who are celebrating!

The First Noel (La Primera Navidad)

Here is a gorgeous version of "The First Noel" in Spanish performed by the PS22 Chorus of 2012, and our latest crew never sounded better! Difficult harmonies performed impeccably and angelically by the kids. Maureen, one of the sweetest souls to ever join the ranks of the PS22 Chorus, sings the second verse so beautifully. Very proud of this performance....

Last Christmas

Here is a lilting version of the classic holiday song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, featuring Kahlil and the PS22 Chorus of 2012 in top form. We'd like to dedicate this one to George Michael (the writer of the song and lead singer of Wham!), and wish him a speedy recovery!

UPDATE: Big thanks to our awesome friend and supporter Perez Hilton for recommending "Last Christmas" to his followers!

30 Seconds To Mars & PS22 Chorus

On Thursday night, the PS22 Chorus of 2012 set out to St. Peters Church in Manhattan to perform with the phenomenal 30 Seconds To Mars and the deservedly acclaimed Vitamin String Quartet! The kids joined in on three songs, "Alibi," "Closer To The Edge," & "King & Queens!" Check out 2 performances from the actual show below, and a special version of "Closer To The Edge" with behind-the-scenes footage from the soundcheck earlier that evening!

Thanks to the band (Jared Leto, Tomo Milcevik, Shannon Leto, Braxton Olita), their incredibly supportive and welcoming fans, David Bison for coordinating the kids' appearance, Ms. Lisa for filming, Ms. Laurie & Mrs. Johnson for the pics, and to everyone who helped make it a night to remember!

PS22 Chorus Accepts Village Voice KIDS Lifetime Achievement Award!

On Wednesday, December 7, the 2011 Village Voice Web Awards ceremony took place at DROM, Avenue A in NYC! Before the event, the PS22 Chorus filmed a special performance of "Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes, and accepted the Lifetime Achievement on behalf of KIDS at the school. The video was then shown at the ceremony Wednesday evening! Check it out below! (The PS22 segment beings at 2:12.)

Big thank you to Village Voice for this illustrious honor!

Someone Like You Pt. II

A while back, we made a family connection between several of our current and former PS22 Chorus members in a video entitled "Someone Like You." Many have since requested a complete version of the song by Adele. So when Kiarah's uncle (and former PS22 Chorus member Deon returned to PS22 on Friday, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to record that version with some help from his niece and even a little backup from the chorus itself! So much talent in one little auditorium....

NOVEMBER 2011 POLL RESULTS!

The fans have spoken, and your favorite PS22 Chorus of 2012 cover (pre-November) is "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adele!

Don't forget to vote in our new December poll (on the right sidebar) allowing you to weigh in on your favorite of the three amazing songs PS22 Chorus performed two weeks ago with V V Brown! Check out all the nominated videos on our V V Brown post.

The Fighter!

The fifth graders of the PS22 Chorus of 2012 proved themselves to be music class heroes with this incredible version of "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes (featuring Ryan Tedder)! Such a great version of a great song! And let's hear it for Daniel-san on the drums and his backup dancers(?)....

UPDATE: OneRepublic just tweeted about the PS22 Chorus cover of "The Fighter!"

"Shark In The Water" Currently Featured on YouTube Music Homepage!!

Just The Way You Are

Here is the amazing 2003 PS22 Chorus alum David returning to perform a special rendition of "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars with the PS22 Chorus of 2012! Our security guard ("Babsy") comes in to listen, and adds a whole new dimension of entertainment to this video....

Jackie

From the masterpiece of an album entitled, THE LION AND THE COBRA, here is the PS22 Chorus of 2012 singing "Jackie" by the brilliant Sinead O'Connor). The kids love the song and really do it justice! Daniel on the drums is spectacular, and Briana handles the solo parts magnificently! Thanks go to Mr. Eberle for bringing in the electric for this one, and to Ms. Lisa, as always, for her beautiful filming! This performance will definitely prove to be an all-time favorite!

This Post Sponsored by the Letters V & V, and the Color BROWN!

The PS22 Chorus of 2012 got a fantastic treat yesterday when the group was visited by the enormously talented recording artist V V Brown and her guitarist Luke! It was a MAJOR event! The kids got together with V V on three of her songs, the first was her big hit, "Shark In The Water," and the next two are from her forthcoming album, Lollipops & Politics, called "Children" and "Famous!" Words can't describe the awesome atmosphere of music, inspiration, love and laughter in the room, so we'll just let the videos speak for themselves! Check them out below!

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the beautiful videos, Ms. Laurie for the great pics (more below and more to come), Mr. Eberle for joining in on the bongos, Tara Chiari from EMI (and old friend from MY elementary school days) for setting this up, V V's guitarist Luke for jamming with us, and V V Brown herself for an unforgettable day of music, laughter, and inspiration!

Someone Like You

It's hard to believe PS22 Chorus is now beginning its 12th year! Here is a fun video showing that it's "all in the family" at PS22, featuring music from Adele, William Arms Fisher, Dvorak, and Cyndi Lauper!

PS22 Chorus of 2012 Header Updated!

Another big thank you to our friend Zendrig for updating the PS22 Chorus of 2012 header to include a picture of the entire new crew!