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!

Celtic Woman Returns To PS22!

On Monday, PS22 Chorus was revisited by the stunning ladies of Celtic Woman, who joined us for another incredible afternoon of music and mutual appreciation! The ladies were kind enough to bring CDs for all the kids and the amazing custom made Celtic Woman Hearts PS22 shirts you see on the post! The ladies and the kids made some incredible music together yet again! (To see pics and vids from their first visit back in 2010, click here.) Check out 4 amazing video highlights from the visit below!

And check out this link to a great article (which includes the below video and more great photos) from SILIVE.com!

Big thanks to Chloe Agnew, Maraid Nesbitt, Lisa Lambe, & Susan McFadden of Celtic Woman for their genuine graciousness, Tara Chiari for arranging the visit, guitarist Ewan Cowley and bass player Eoghan O'Neill, Mr. Eberle for joining in on the guitar for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Ms. Lisa for filming, and Ms. Laurie (and again Ms. Lisa) for the amazing pics you see on the post!

Zac Efron & Danny DeVito Sing With PS22 Chorus!

Zac Efron & Danny DeVito joined the PS22 Chorus at the NEA's Read Across America to help celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, with a most memorable sneak preview for the film The Lorax! The audience of public school children from across the city that were in attendance were treated to a reading of the book by Dr. Seuss from Danny and Zac, a glimpse of a few scenes from the film, and of course a song from the PS22 Chorus! Here are two versions of that song -- the first is from the event in which the kids are joined by Zac & Danny, and sing the theme song to The Lorax's theme song, "Let It Grow" by Ester Dean! (And with all due respect to the super-awesome Mr. DeVito, we're glad for his sake and ours that The Lorax isn't a musical...) ;) In all seriousness, both stars were good sports to take the stage with the kids, as that was not in the program. The second video is the "auditorium version" of the same song.

Thanks to Ms. Lisa for filming and Ms. Laurie, Ms. Kim, and again Ms. Lisa for the great pics on the post! More below!