Post by xєяσ єємαι zσηтαησѕ ♬ on Jun 19, 2017 19:11:18 GMT -5
On Saturday afternoon, I finally got the chance to see the Young People's Chorus of NYC perform live. To many of you that might not seem like a big deal but believe me, it was. YPC is one of the most famous children's choirs in the world. Although I've gotten to sing with them as part of my summer choral music experience program in Ithaca, this was the first time I went to one of their concerts in the city. And let me tell you it was one of the most inspiring and beautiful things I've ever witnessed. Throughout the entire time I could hardly even believe I was there. When Cantare (the division that comes to Ithaca) came on, they did one of my favorite songs, Gnothi Safton by Jim Papoulis, which I learned when he was guest composer for CME 2015. The YPC conductors, Francisco Núñez and Elizabeth Núñez, both of whom I've worked with at CME, are not only 2 of the most amazing musicians but 2 of the nicest people I've ever met. Francisco is also a composer and at the end all the divisions combined performed his piece Es Tu Tiempo (It's Your Time). 400 children total onstage. I was crying. Then they ended the concert with the Jim Papoulis song Give Us Hope, as they always do. And I cried even more. YPC includes kids from every neighborhood of the city. Every race and socioeconomic background. They have a 100% high school graduation rate and all of their members go on to college, many of whom being the first in their family to do so. They get the chance to travel all over the world. I was sitting in the balcony and just a few minutes after the show ended I heard people calling my name. And there was a group of girls from Cantare, all of whom but one I sang with last summer. They thanked me for coming we chatted and took pictures. Then when I went into the lobby it happened with more people. Including singers I'd never even met before. Then one of them asked if I wanted to see Francisco. (Like, what kind of a question is that??). So I went into this other room and as soon as he and Elizabeth saw me, they hugged me and told me how great it was that I came. Then of course we took pictures together as well. More people like these need to exist. To quote Francisco, "children are taught growing up that if you're a different race, or a different religion, you're not good enough. And I want to chance that." Sometimes the world we live in is pretty messed up. YPC is an example of what our world should be. Please, I highly recommend you check them out. If you live in or visit NYC you should definitely try to see them. I still can't even believe it.
This isn't from Saturday, but here's a video.
This isn't from Saturday, but here's a video.