Another star is born!! Check out fourth grader Nathalie, as sweet as she is talented, joining the PS22 Chorus of 2015 for this spectacular cover of the brilliant Elle King, whom you may remember from her awesome jam with the PS22 Chorus two years ago! She and the chorus even shared a photo shoot together in Teen Vogue magazine!!
Elle King said she was "jumping up and down" after watching the kids' beautiful performance in a tweet to the chorus you can see below!
Recently, the PS22 Chorus rocked the 2015 New Yorker for New York Gala with this powerhouse rendition of "Welcome To New York" by Taylor Swift, which brought the house down! The most gratifying result was that Taylor Swift herself posted a fantastic response on her Twitter and Facebook pages (which you can see below)!! The video was also acknowledged by our friend, Perez Hilton, MTV, and Cosmopolitan, among others!!
Check out these five incredible recent performances from the PS22 Chorus of 2015!!
1) The chorus yet again raises the bar with this dark, solemn, and thoroughly beautiful cover of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears! Definitely earns a spot as another all-time favorite performance from these fabulous fifth graders....
2) The kids surely earn high marks for this extraordinary reinvention of the 1980 anthem, "Refugee" by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers! A classic song that has all the makings of a classic PS22 performance....
3) PS22 Chorus of 2015 bears its soul singing the bejeebus out of this brilliant and beautiful song, "Make It Rain" by Ed Sheeran! And how about that Isaiah on the solo?!
4) Here is the PS22 Chorus singing the beautiful classical French love song, "Plaisir D'amour." Fourth grade twins Kayla & Kendall join us for a quick but lovely solo!
5) And finally, the PS22 Chorus celebrated Black History Month with this upbeat rendition of "Struggling Man" by one of the great forefathers of reggae music, Jimmy Cliff! And of course I will not deny that the inspiration to cover this one came after our friend, Emily Kinney (with whom the chorus sang last year), sang this so beautifully.
Within just a couple of hours of posting the new PS22 Chorus cover of "People Loving People" by Garth Brooks, the video and its inspiring message have gotten an incredible response -- and that includes from Garth Brooks himself! The performance has gotten over a quarter of a million views within 24 hours of its being posted! Check it out for yourself below! And also check out the great reviews the video has gotten from USA Today and People!
2014 was another amazing year for PS22! In the course of 365 days, the kids sang with Fifth Harmony, A Great Big World, Christina Perri, Jason Mraz, and a host of others! They also gave some amazing TV appearances on The Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda and The View! Speaking of which, here is an awesome unseen highlight of 2014! When the PS22 Chorus was in the green room getting set for their appearance on The View back in January, we found out Sara Bareilles was also guesting that morning -- so putting the pedal to the metal, the kids cranked out this little performance of "Brave" to sing to Sara! Check out her sweet reaction as well as Whoopi Goldberg's adorable brush with our little famous people!
The holiday season is always best celebrated at PS22 and this year's was no exception! The kids visited Sunrise Assisted Living to sing for our senior friends, and put on an amazing winter concert with some added help of PS22 veterans, Clive & Allie! They even performed a few Christmas selections on The Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda! Check out some video and photo highlights of a wonderful ending to 2014!
The kids literally hounded and haunted me until I agreed to do this little ode to their favorite video game.... They made quite a jolly romp of it too!
The kids add a whole new dimension to my love for this Pink Floyd classic! A chilling performance in every which way, not the least of which is a fantastic display of talent from our new fourth grade drummer, Emmanuel!
Ms. Lisa requested this song a couple of weeks ago, and we decided it was the perfect choice for the PS22Chorus of 2015 to sing on Halloween!! It's a PHENOMENAL performance of "Scarecrow" by Alex & Sierra! The new chorus members completely outdid themselves on this one, and were happy to welcome the incredible 4th grader Dapo (brother of "Boom Clap" soloist Aesha) in on the fun to help out with those really low notes on the solo parts!! Have I mentioned how much I'm loving this new 2015 crew???
UPDATE: Alex & Sierra posted the video on their Facebook page and want to "hug all of you little munchkins!"
On October 14th, the PS22 Chorus of 2015 was treated to a visit from the king of indie music, Ariel Pink! (You may remember the PS22 Chorus of 2011 covered Ariel's amazing song, "Round and Round" to astounding effect! Ariel was amazing with the kids -- funny and demonstratively appreciative of the hard work they did tackling his music! The chorus teamed up with him on two of his new songs, "Picture Me Gone" and "Jell-o!" Check out both performances (which include some entertaining excerpts from the Q & A) below!
More great pics below, and even more can be found on our Facebook page!
PS22 Chorus of 2015 shows a soulful side with this performance of the new song, "Glorious," by David Archuleta! It's hard to believe sophisticated harmonies like these are coming out of this new group so early on in the school year! On his Twitter page, David Archuleta himself admitted he got the chills from this performance!
PS22 Chorus of 2015 tackles the breakout hit from one of our favorite new bands, Echosmith! Soloist Sierra gives a sensitive and thoroughly gorgeous performance on the leads, and the group proves the point with this performance that they don't have to wish.... they're the coolest!
On October 1, The Swon Brothers, who tore it up on NBC's The Voice and are now breaking into the country music scene big time, came to visit the PS22 Chorus of 2015! The guys were incredibly cool, answering questions from the kids and inviting them to join them for a special version of their song, "Pretty Beautiful" that lived up to its namesake! Our two groups also joined forces for one more special performance still to come!
We leave you with some more great pics from our afternoon with The Swons! For even more, visit our Facebook page!
PS22 Chorus of 2015 marks its official arrival in a big way with its first video of the year, and the new crew doesn't disappoint!! The kids bring their A-game to Charli XCX's energetic pop smash, "Boom Clap," with some beautifully executed harmonies, a dreamy unison, a sincere passionate performance, AND featuring a gorgeous solo from new member Aesha! If this is the caliber of performance we can expect from these kids on a regular basis, it's safe to say it's going to be quite a year!!
The PS22 Chorus of 2015 takes the record for the earliest debut performance out of any of the previous years' groups! After Jason Mraz contacted us asking for the kids to back him up on a couple of songs at a concert he was giving at St. George Theater right here in Staten Island, we kicked things into high gear to make sure to be ready for the event! And before the full group was even finished being auditioned, the chorus was backing up Jason on two of his songs, "Back To The Earth" and "Plane," and received a well deserved standing ovation at the show!! Check out both amazing performances below and find more pics on our Facebook page!
The Apollo Theater celebrated it's 80th birthday on June 10th with an incredible all-star concert, and the PS22 Chorus was on hand to help mark the occasion!! The kids, with the help of former PS22 Chorus of 2012 member Kevin, brought down the house performing the classic, "O Happy Day," with none other than the song's creator, Edwin Hawkins, and child prodigy Matthew Whitaker on the keys!! But undoubtedly the most mind-blowing part of the experience took place at soundcheck, before the show even began! R & B legend Gladys Knight, who also happened to be a featured performer at the event, took the time to say hello to the kids while they were rehearsing, and joined them for a special performance of the song!! Fortunately Ms. Lisa had the video camera rolling, so make sure to watch this epic musical moment below!!!
Check out more great pics (which include shots with Gladys Knight, Edwin Hawkins, Wayne Brady & Doug E Fresh) from the event below!!
You need to watch this truly astounding cover of "Rise Like A Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst, truly one of the greatest PS22 Chorus performances of all time!
Also check out the kind words we got from Conchita in response!
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