OSCAR-whelmed!!

Pic by (and used with kind permission of): Paul Martinka of the NY Post

So it's safe to say that many lives have been turned completely upside down at PS22 with the announcement that the PS22 Chorus of 2011 is being flown to Hollywood to be part of the 2011 Academy Awards Ceremony! These past 2 days have been insane -- the kids have been featured on every major TV network, the press has been on a feeding frenzy, and the kids are still at their homework!! The public response has been overwhelming to say the least! Speaking on behalf of the kids, we are all beyond grateful for the enormous opportunities bestowed upon us the last several years. Speaking on my own behalf, I can say these kids deserve everything that's coming to them, and I have never been so proud. I don't want the blog to start sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech, so I'll stop there. The video below speaks for itself. Enormous thanks to Jonathan Kalafer for capturing the intense elation and emotion of a night we'll never forget!

OSCAR BOUND!!!!!

Actress Anne Hathaway, co-host of the upcoming 2010 Oscars, and producer Bruce Cohen paid PS22 a visit at last night's 2010 Winter Concert to give the kids the most exciting news!!! The PS22 Chorus of 2011 will be walking the red carpet and performing at this year's Academy Awards Ceremony!!! Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the fantastic video capturing this unforgettable moment!!

Footage from the amazing night is set to air on Entertainment Tonight later today. (Check your local listings!!) Thanks to Victor Breinberg (my awesome dad!) for the great pics on the post! And stay tuned for more updates on our Oscar journey, AND some highlight performances from the concert!!

PS22 Chorus Is Not Afraid!

The PS22 Chorus of 2011 take on Eminem in this astounding acoustic version of "Not Afraid!" The kids bring a whole new meaning to the song with their reinvention of this modern hip hop classic! Brianna ("Krispy Kreme") & Jonathon do an incredible job on their respective solo parts, and Marquis takes to the drums again to give it that extra punch! Definitely a new favorite!! Thanks to Ms. Lisa for the fantastic filming!!

Matisyahu Remembers PS22 for Chanukah!

Thanks to our friend and collaborator, Matisyahu, for including the PS22 Chorus version of "Chanukah Chanukah" in his Chanukah-themed YouTube playlist, and plugging the chorus in his video introducing said playlist below! (The PS22 plug comes in at 38 seconds into the video.)

PS22 Conquers Germany!

Check out this incredible plug/article/interview featuring the PS22 Chorus on the popular German website DETEKTOR.FM! Congrats kids on the incredible international acclaim!

Silver Bells

Here is a stunning version of the Christmas classic, "Silver Bells", from the PS22 Chorus of 2011! Kids really knocked this one out of the park, eh?? Thanks to Ms. Lisa for her beautiful filming!

UPDATE (12-6-10): Thanks to Perez Hilton for the awesome plug on his blog!!

"Light The Candles" for Chanukah!

I wrote this song for the PS22 Chorus several years ago but never recorded it, so I felt it was time to bring this one back. The kids sing this so beautifully and it's not an easy arrangement. This year's chorus added its own magic touch to the performance, and it's a lovely rendition that I'm quite proud of! Hope you all enjoy too!! Thanks to Ms. Lisa for her beautiful filming, and a happy Chanukah to all who are celebrating from all of us at PS22!!

NOVEMBER 2010 Poll Results

PS22 Chorus fans have spoken and the top 3 celebrity quotes go to Kylie Minogue, Celtic Woman & Tori Amos! Of course we here at 22 are equally proud of them all, and of course you can see all the fantastic PS22 celebrity endorsements on the left sidebar!

And make sure you vote in our new December Poll on the right sidebar! This month's poll allows you to vote for your favorite PS22 holiday performance! Be an educated voter, and take some time to watch all the nominated videos below! What better way to get into the holiday spirit?

"A Winter's Carol" by Tori Amos


"Bethlehem" by Justin & Mr. B


"Esa Enai" (Hebrew Traditional)


"Let There Be Peace On Earth"


"Maoz Tsur" (Hebrew Traditional)


"My Favorite Things" (from Sound of Music)


"O Holy Night" (Traditional)


"Snow Angel" by Tori Amos


"This Christmas" by Donnie Hathaway


"White Christmas" by Irving Berlin


"Winter" by Tori Amos


"Wintersong" by Sarah McLachlan

KYLIE MINOGUE COMES TO PS22!

Get ready for something REALLY special!! Today the PS22 Chorus hosted a visit from the AMAZING Ms. Kylie Minogue, who made a special trip out to Staten Island to spend some time with the kids! Kylie has been a long time fan of PS22, tweeting about the kids on more than one occasion, so it's safe to say that everybody was extremely psyched for this collaboration!

Here the kids join Kylie on her mega-hit, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" which we recreated PS22 style! Kylie blew us away with her incredible vocals on this acoustic rendition! The kids sound haunting and yet somehow are having a blast at the same time!

Here are the kids with Kylie as she gives her debut live performance of "Put Your Hands Up" from her latest album, APHRODITE! Quite an honor to be a part of this....

I can't say enough great things about Kylie! She is truly a wonderful spirit and completely enchanted us all, kids and grown-up types alike!! Speaking of which, big thanks to Mr. Eberle for his amazing guitar work and to Ms. Lisa for her spectacular video footage!! Also much thanks to Ms. Laurie (and again Ms. Lisa) for the fantastic pics!!

UPDATE (12-2-10): Big thanks to our pal, Perez Hilton, who posted about the amazing collaboration with Kylie! (These vids were also picked up by the good folks at Pink Is The New Blog!)

25 Million Views!!

Congrats to the kids of the PS22 Chorus for achieving over 25,000,000 views of their videos on our main YouTube Channel! Astounding!!

PS22 Gets A Standing O at The Golden Goggles 2010

On Monday, the PS22 Chorus performed at the Golden Goggles 2010, a fundraiser in the guise of an awards ceremony, honoring some of our nation's top swimmers! While there, the kids got high fives from some of the most renowned Olympic athletes, including Michael Phelps, Summer Sanders, & Ryan Lochte! Performing a total of 7 selections in all, the audience and honorees were treated to a healthy dose of PS22!! Check out the entire performance below from beginning to end, including the debut of the kids' newest song, "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves!

PS22 opens the show with Alicia Keys/Jay-Z "Empire State of Mind Pt. XXII"


"No One" / "One Day" Alicia Keys / Matisyahu


"Snow Angel" by Tori Amos (& a message from Summer Sanders!)


"Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves


"Paparazzi" / "Living On A Prayer" by Lady Gaga / Bon Jovi

It was truly an honor to perform for some of our nation's most impressive athletes, and they in turn were equally enthusiastic about hearing the kids perform!! Olympic gold medal winner Natalie Coughlin even tweeted and Facebooked that her favorite part of the event was PS22!

Universal Sports wrote up the event, and dedicated the last 5 paragraphs to the chorus and their amazing performance! Check that out here.

Props go to all of our amazing soloists, including (in order of appearance) Brianna "Krispy Kreme," Renee, Denise, Marquis, Kayla, & Azaria! Big thanks to Ms. Lisa for all the amazing videos, and to Ms. Laurie & Mrs. Panzella for the great pics on this post! Also thanks to Mr. Eberle for joining in on the guitar!

Greyson Chance Goes Back To 5th Grade!

Yesterday, the young musical phenomenon Greyson Chance made a surprise visit to the PS22 Chorus of 2011!! We had him pose as "Brian," the son of Ms. Laurie when he came, and I quickly broke into a version of "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga before the (majority of) group knew what I was up to! (The chorus only learned their part earlier that afternoon, and actually did remarkably well!!) Midway through the song, Greyson pushed me off the piano and broke into his brilliant version of the song! Needless to say, the kids went duly berzerk when they finally realized (or had confirmed) what was going on!! Sarah's & Dominique's reactions alone make this video well worth the watch!!

The next video is the real piece d'resistance, and is a truly astounding collaboration of young talent! The PS22 Chorus join forces with Greyson to recreate his single, "Waiting Outside The Lines" and words cannot do it justice! It's great to see the mutual admiration that's going on throughout the performance! The kids truly inspired each other to create this stunning and sincerely expressed rendition. We at PS22 are utterly impressed by Greyson Chance and know that he's bound for success of major proportion!

Big thanks to Greyson, his management (and mom!), and to Steinway for furnishing us with a piano for the occasion! Also thanks to Craig Hatkoff for helping us out of our piano jam!! And the "as always" thanks go to Ms. Lisa for her unbelievable filming, and Ms. Laurie, Ms. Kaufmann & Mrs. Johnson for the pics!!

UPDATE: Check out the awesome tweet from Greyson about his visit!

UPDATE 2: Thanks to Greyson & PS22's mutual compadre, Perez Hilton, for posting the performance on his blog!