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!

PS22 Chorus sings for Paul Simon at 'New Yorker for New York' Gala

On Monday, the PS22 Chorus had the honor of singing for an army of celebrities (including Alec Baldwin, Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon, Brian Williams, etc.) that were in attendance at the 2012 New Yorker For New York Gala at Gotham Hall in N.Y.C.! The kids tore it up and blew away the appreciative audience who gave the kids a well-deserved standing ovation! Most notably, the kids that night had the honor of singing their rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water" for songwriting legend Paul Simon! Mr. Simon was incredibly gracious and in awe of our fifth graders, enough so to come backstage to meet the kids and congratulate them after their chilling performance! Check out some highlights below, including a PS22 Chorus debut of the song "Start Over" by Beyonce (featuring a tremendous solo delivery from Kiarah) that the kids rehearsed during their soundcheck!  UPDATE (9-3-12):  Just added --  a new version of "Edge of Glory" by Lady Glory also performed at soundcheck....

Thanks to Mr. Eberle for his guitar accompaniment, Ms. Lisa for the amazing videos, Ms. Laurie (and again Ms. Lisa) for the great pics featured on this post! (More below!)

Gym Class Heroes Shout Out to PS22 Chorus via YouTube!!

Humbled, honored, and completely stoked to see this!!

This video was also accompanied by an awesome second tweet from Travie McCoy (check out his first here), who just discovered the kids' version of "Stereo Hearts" with the incredible Ithacappella! Check out the tweet and the two covers that inspired these incredible gestures from Travie & the incredible Gym Class Heroes below! Biggest thanks to them for making our day and beyond!!

PS22 Chorus Slays At Sinead O'Connor Concert!

Last night the PS22 Chorus of 2012 had the privilege of opening Sinead O'Connor's concert at The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan! After seeing the kids' incredible rendition of her song "Jackie" we posted on YouTube a couple of months back, Sinead had blogged and tweeted about her wish to somehow meet up with PS22. Her manager Fachtna contacted me soon after, asking if we would open the show! Of course there was no way we could turn down this incredible invitation! The kids put on a spectacular show for an absolutely brilliant audience! But this was the definitive highlight of the night, when Sinead O'Connor surprised us and came onstage to join the kids on their rendition of "Jackie!" Sinead elected to take a backseat and let the kids do their thing, which is further testament to how truly gracious a performer and person she is.

BONUS: Check out Sinead's performance of "Jackie" from the night before (February 23 at the Highline Ballroom), in which she dedicates the song to PS22!

Thanks to Sinead and everyone at her camp (Fachtna, Mimi, and Lisa) for making this happen! It was a dream come true for all of us! Thanks to Mr. Eberle for joining in on the guitar, Ms. Lisa for her fabulous videos, and Mrs. Johnson for all the great pics on this post! See more below!

PS22 Chorus Performs "The Greatest Love of All" for Whitney Houston Tribute on CNN

On Wednesday afternoon, the PS22 Chorus was invited by the Piers Morgan Tonight show on CNN to sing a Whitney Houston song for a tribute to the amazing talent who was taken way too soon. With the show airing tonight, I was really hoping we would have time to do the song justice. I should know my chorus better than that by now.... The kids pulled off an absolutely ASTOUNDING version of "The Greatest Love of All" (written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed)! Major props to the chorus and soloists Kahlil & Kiarah for nailing this on such short notice and a minimal amount of rehearsal! Here is the truly touching version we recorded just hours before the filming.

And you MUST watch the equally amazing performance they gave on the Piers Morgan Show here!

Somebody That I Used To Know

Here is the ultra-cool song, "Somebody That I Used To Know" by indie artist Gotye (featuring Kimbra)! As the original version of this song has gotten countless plays on my iPod, I felt compelled to bring it (slightly edited) to the PS22 Chorus of 2012! And the kids certainly made the most of it! Kahlil is perfect on the leads and Daniel-san keeps raising his game on the drums! Big thanks to Mr. Eberle for joining in on the acoustic guitar and Ms. Lisa for filming!

Gotye and Kimbra tweeted and Facebooked (is this an acceptable verb??) about our latest vid! Gotye calls PS22 "the coolest kids on the block," and Kimbra exclaims it "a wonderful cover!"

UPDATE: Thanks to our best bud and fan, Perez Hilton, for posting a fantastic review of the video on his blog!

UPDATE: Ryan Seacrest also tweeted and blogged about our latest cover! So cool!!