PS22 Chorus brings some Christmas cheer to Nana

On Monday, Dec. 22nd, the kids sang for the elderly at my grandmother's senior home. I was never so proud of my chorus than I was seeing them interact so sweetly with my nana and her friends. My grandmother doesn't make much sense these days, and I prepared the kids for that, and watching them with her and the others is just the most heart-warming thing for me.

The song isn't really important -- it's actually one that the fourth graders sang at the holiday show, that I never rehearsed with these guys. But we were just looking for anything to keep the show going. Fortunately the kids pick stuff up pretty quickly these days.

Along with the Tori meeting video, this is probably my all-time favorite PS22 Chorus video. The kids are hardly singing at their best, but who really cares.... It shows what's BEHIND their best, and that's tremendous heart. The singing, in this case, is only incidental. And that's what makes this a posting that I'm very proud to share.... More pics below!

The PS22 Chorus Ushers In The Holiday Season With Its Ninth Annual Holiday Choral Concert!

On Wednesday, December 17th, the kids at PS22 gave an incredible holiday performance at the school for family and friends! The Holiday Choral Concert of 2008 had an abundance of memorable moments. The fourth grade chorus were a revelation, and showed that the future of the PS22 Chorus is definitely in good hands....

The chorus began with "VIVA LA VIDA" by Coldplay, with April leading the chorus in another brilliant version. Following that, Julian did an incredible job singing solo as the chorus presented the Christmas traditional, "In The Bleak Midwinter".

Then Samantha took the stage for "Maoz Tsur", the traditional Chanukah song. Here is a beautiful version taken from rehearsal.

"Maoz Tsur"
ps22 chorus p.s.22 choir ps p.s. 22 2009 2008 chanukah maoz tsur mao tsor tzur tzor rock of ages let our song praise thy saving power

Next, Allie did an absolutely gorgeous version of "My Favorite Things" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Is it me, or are these kids growing as singers and performers right before our eyes?! They just seem to get better and better, and Allie's performance here is just astounding.

After that, Maya took the stage for a fantastic version of "One Day" by Bjork. Maya did such a beautiful job on this one!

The chorus kept things going with two amazing full chorus songs -- "Sky Fits Heaven" by Madonna, and "The Seven Principles", a little melody I cooked up to put the actual principles of Kwanzaa into song.

Monet was up next, leading the chorus in a spectacular version of The Beatles classic, "Across The Universe". Then Melina did some fantastic soloing on an awesome version of the Michael Jackson Christmas classic, "Little Christmas Tree". Then we finished off with one of the chorus's huge hits this year, "White Christmas", which gained an astonishing number of viewers thanks to Perez Hilton posting it on his blog. The rendition of "Little Christmas Tree" below was taken during rehearsal and performed by the chorus coaches.

No show is complete without a good encore, and the PS22 Chorus gave a 3 song encore consisting of our biggest internet hit to date, "1000 Oceans" by Tori Amos. Allie really served it, and the chorus sounded magnificent. This song has over 158,000 views and counting as of December 2008, again, thanks to another Perez Hilton plug. Then the amazing Samantha returned for a "Let There Be Peace On Earth". Then the unbelievable Tirzah finished off the festivities with a high energy version of "My Drive Thru", the Converse Commercial song performed by Santogold, Julian Casablancas, N.E.R.D., and produced by Pharrell! I'm including this a capella rendition of "Let There Be Peace On Earth" taken from rehearsal, because in my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful recordings the kids have ever done.

At the show's conclusion, former PS22 Chorus member Isaiah gave a rockin' encore of his own with "Run Run Rudolph"!

To finish the night, the kids sang a rather frightening version of "Happy Birthday" to Mr. B, but actually made a very beautiful presentation afterwards, which meant a great deal! (Thanks kids!) It's safe to say it was a special evening for everyone present. Here are some more pics from this unforgettable night!

Tyriq

Jonathan and Leah

Josh & Joey

Mariah

Gabriel (Our sound-man!)

Pepsi (Giuseppe) reads his birthday message to Mr. B

Gilbert

Mr. B's bro and nana after the show!

The PS22 Chorus of 2009!

DOUBLE PLATINUM!

The day has come!! As of this evening, The PS22 Chorus has received over 2,000,000 hits on their videos worldwide!!!! The latest influx of viewers can be attributed to Perez Hilton spotlighting our chorus yet again!! And this time, it wasn't even a Tori Amos song! This time it was "White Christmas", which was featured on our previous post! It is indeed an honor to have Perez as a bonafide PS22 Chorus fan, and we sincerely appreciate him spreading the word about our amazing kids!

With a "Perez bump" always comes a series of honors for the chorus, and today is no exception. The "White Christmas" video is already almost up to 100,000 hits and the kids' video channel was the #3 most viewed musician's channel today! Click on the pics below to see more.

The PS22 Chorus YouTube channel honors

Honors for our new "White Christmas" video

Borough Hall Tree Lighting 2008!

>

This past Thursday, December 11th, the PS22 Chorus of 2009 gave a stellar a capella performance at this year's Borough Hall Tree Lighting event! Even though As a result of driving rains (which, needless to say, we got SOAKED in!!), the ceremony was held indoors in a rather sardine can-like room! We managed to all squeeze in, when we realized there was no working keyboard on-hand. So we had to wing it, and they soared on that wing indeed! It was the first time the PS22 Chorus ever performed publicly a capella, and the kids' (in the audience) reaction below says it all!

The PS22 Chorus of '09 have shown that they are pros indeed. Under difficult circumstances, they really pulled it off! And to say the kids "pulled it off" is a massive understatement. You can see the chorus singing White Christmas in the video below that illustrates the point.

"White Christmas"

Thanks to Jared's dad for the awesome video footage. Now enjoy more incredible pictures, courtesy again of Ms. Lisa!

Mumbai Memorial Ceremony

On Thursday, December 10th, PS22 Chorus member Alexandra sang a beautiful solo version of "Let There Be Peace On Earth" for a ceremony sponsored by Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro (pictured above with Allie), honoring the victims of the Mumbai attacks in India. The ceremony, including Allie's magnificent performance will be aired on CTV (Staten Island Cable Channel 34, 35, or 57) at some point in the near future. Stay tuned!

bbc

Hangin' With The Cornflake Girl....

Couldn't resist posting this little gem from 2004.... Yeah, try not to crack a smile while watching this one - I dare you! To find something resembling an explanation for this performance, click here">

OK Cable!!

Congratulations to the PS22 Chorus of 2009 for a brilliant performance yesterday at The Time Warner Cable Holiday Choral Concerts. The chorus performed five selections and was truly in top form.

Tonight, Staten Islanders will get to see a 10 second sneak preview of all the participating schools on Channel 76 (Time Warner Cable only), and tomorrow the complete performances will be available On Demand, Channel 1111 (again, Time Warner Cable only.) Below are more pics from the filming.

Altos singing their hearts out!
Tirzah sings "One Day"
Marcel feeling it!
Leah too!
Sopranos looking good!
Lobna and Moona are all smiles! Mrs. Donath (principal) very proud!
Joey, Maya, and Diggy (Davon)
Pepsi (Giuseppe) & Tariq celebrating a job well done!