PS22 Chorus Is Young @ Heart!

PS22 Chorus is gearing up to make music with our senior counterparts, the incredible Young @ Heart Chorus, for a special concert this Sunday at the John M. Greene Hall at Smith College in Northampton, MA! This much-anticipated collaboration is bound to be an extraordinary musical event! We're also thrilled to be sharing the stage with the phenomenal SciTech Band! Each group will take the stage for its own respective set, then come together for some additional special performances! Needless to say, this is a concert not to be missed if you're in the area and able to attend! For more info and ticket info click here. And check out an amazing podcast of a radio interview on WHMP featuring the directors of Young @ Heart, The Sci-Tech Band and PS22 Chorus and even some members of Y@H! (The PS22 Chorus segment begins at 27:25.)

Happy Valentine's Day TODAY!

PS22 Chorus wishes everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! Check out this wonderfully uplifting segment that aired this morning on the TODAY SHOW featuring our amazing kids!
 

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Hall Of Fame!

Turn up the volume on your speakers and be prepared for a big dose of musical adrenalin, because the PS22 Chorus of 2013 serves up a powerhouse performance of the incredible song "Hall Of Fame" by The Script ft. will.i.am! Certainly this feelgood performance is worthy of its namesake! (And of course a little impromptu chant of Sweet Brown's "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" can only exponentially increase the entertainment factor of ANY video....)

Thanks to Zach Johnson for suggesting the cover! And while we're on the topic of "Hall Of Fame," check out who's following the PS22 Chorus on Twitter!

Yup, that's LeBron James! Now not only can we admire his skills on the basketball court, but we can also commend him for his excellent taste in music!  ;)

Payphone

Inspired by our previously posted version with Ithacappella, PS22 Chorus does a full-on acoustic arrangement of "Payphone" by Maroon 5 with the help of a brilliant performance by soulful Matt T. on leads! And in case you missed it, below is the version we did last month during our collaboration with Ithacappella!

PS22 Chorus on CBS News!

Yesterday the PS22 Chorus had a blast with CBS correspondent Alex Denis appearing live on the 8am hour of WLNY's LIVE FROM THE COUCH direct from the PS22 auditorium! The kids even got to jam with Alex, who turns out to be a rather phenomenal drummer! You can see clips from the COUCH along with another similar piece that was filmed for CBS News below!

My Funny Valentine

And now for something fun and different.... Here's a rather wonderful rendition of the classic jazz standard, "My Funny Valentine," from the musical BABES IN ARMS presented by the PS22 Chorus of 2013 featuring the spectacular ever-growing vocal talent of Alicea! A real Valentine's Day treat!!

No One Can Save You

PS22 Chorus presents a quirky little tune by an emerging talent, Elle King, called "No One Can Save You." Soloist Jenesis is an absolute revelation, and the entire chorus is right on point with some amazingly tight harmonies! Also proud to add that everyone (including Jenesis) learned the song and their parts only yesterday just before we filmed! Loving this little jam....

UPDATE: Thanks to Elle King for the fantastic praise she's bestowed on the PS22 Chorus cover of her song via Facebook and Twitter!

UPDATE: Thanks to our friend Perez Hilton for plugging the video as well!

It's Not Over

Love this song, this band, and this rendition... Here is "It's Not Over" by indie pop/rock act Dinner And A Suit performed by the kids of the PS22 Chorus, and it's definitely one of their best! Thanks to Aaron for lending a hand on the bongo, Matthew V. for the sweet soloing, and Ms. Lisa for filming a beautiful video to complement such a beautiful performance!

Thanks to Dinner And A Suit for tweeting and posting this video to their Facebook page with kind praise!

PS22 Chorus ROCKS The 2013 Presidential Inauguration!

On Monday, the PS22 Chorus had the distinct honor of opening the 2013 Presidential Inauguration at the Capitol Building in Washington DC following the invitation we received a few months back from Senator Chuck Schumer via Twitter!! Words cannot express how proud and honored we all felt to be part of such a prestigious ceremony, not only to witness but to actually take part in history being made.  the kids made the most of the opportunity, singing their hearts out like never before! Need proof? Check out 3 of the 4 songs the kids performed below, including "Home" by Phillip Phillips, "On Top Of The World" by Imagine Dragons (featuring awesome cameos from John Mayer & Katy Perry who stopped by to congratulate the kids), and a gorgeous version of "One Dream" by Sarah McLachlan!
 

The kids have continued to receive some amazing feedback from media sources and celebrities alike for their brilliant performance on Inauguration Day! Imagine Dragons posted on their Facebook page today that they "were honored by the rendition." Katy Perry's photo diary from her appearance at the ceremony, which was posted today on Vogue.com, included a pic of her with the PS22 Chorus with the caption, "Ran into my little Fireworks, the PS22 Chorus before the Inauguration." GOOD.com posted a wonderful review of PS22's performance of "One Dream," saying "now that the Inauguration is over, let's hope Americans keep listening to the voices of these wonderful schoolchildren and take the words they're singing to heart."

It was an exhausting but epic and thoroughly rewarding adventure, and we're so grateful to Ms. Lisa for capturing these performances which will forever be there to bring back these treasured memories. The Inaugural Committee has assured us that professional video and pics will be forthcoming, so we're going to hold out on posting the final PS22 performance of the morning, a mind-blowing and heart-rending version of "God Bless The USA" by Lee Greenwood melded with "America, The Beautiful", in hopes that we will be able to post it from the footage they send us. Definitely it is something to look forward to! In the meantime check out these AMAZING pics from the kids' and President Barack Obama's big day courtesy of Victor Breinberg, Bonnie Breinberg & Ms. Lisa, Mrs. Panzella, and Mr. Carollo! (For more pics and some clips of the kids on the news (CBS, NBC, PIX, etc.), check out our Facebook page.

"Clouds" by Zach Sobiech

"Clouds" was written by a truly inspiring young man named Zach Sobiech. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an often deadly bone cancer that affects many kids, and was recently given a prognosis of only months to live. Only 17 years old, Zach was able to transform his pain into inspiration by writing this beautiful song. I shared it with the chorus as well as his story, and the kids really wanted to do this for him. Thanks to Taliah for making this dedication extra special with her beautiful soloing, and to one of our former chorus members, Matthew from the 2006 group, for bringing my attention to the song. And of course biggest thanks go to Zach for reminding us all that there is always courage, hope, and beauty to be found, even within the depths of despair.

UPDATE: Thanks to Zach for his kind acknowledgement via Twitter!

Don't You Worry Child

We are so thrilled with the amazing reception our 'duet' with Ithacappella on "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia (ft. John Martin)! For any and all interested, here is the original PS22 Chorus arrangement of the song before mixing it up with the amazingly talented gentlemen from Ithaca College! We're quite proud of both renditions....

Ithacappella & PS22 Chorus Reunite!

Yesterday, PS22 Chorus was treated to its annual visit from our "older brothers," Ithacappella! A musical explosion of epic proportion ensued, as both groups debuted and fused together our respective arrangements of "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia!  Afterwards, the kids (featuring some amazing soloing by Matthew T. and Ithacappella's Peter) joined in on a spontaneous and unrehearsed version of Ithacappella's version of "Payphone" by Maroon 5!  Check out both amazing performances below!

UPDATE: Swedish House Mafia posted the "Don't You Worry Child" video on their Facebook page with some kind words including, "massively talented!" Indeed!! It's also been acknowledged by some big media, including VIBE Magazine's website, who named it "Video of The Day!" Congrats to the kiddos involved, young and old!

UPDATE (1-16-13): The love just keeps coming for this video! Below are only a handful of some amazing tweets from some prominent peeps, including Sebastian Ingrosso from Swedish House Mafia and John Martin!