The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative
Brooklyn Youth Chorus believes that rigorous music education, artistically excellent performances, and groundbreaking commissions of new music are the foundation of a strong choral music training program.
With the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative, Brooklyn Youth Chorus expands its emphasis on the importance of contemporary music, including commissioning, collaborating with living composers and performers, and deep explorations on the repertoire and performance practices of different musical genres.
With the support of a generous innovation grant from The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation, the entire student body from earliest training divisions to most-experienced performing ensemble singer will have the opportunity to interact and work with live composers, learn contemporary performance techniques, and premiere newly commissioned music.
About The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative
Through this major initiative, choristers work with artists such as Melanie Charles, Rebecca Ringle Kamarei, Laquita Mitchell, and Davóne Tines as artist mentors and masterclass clinicians. It also establishes two new composer residencies and adds the position of artistic programming advisor. Throughout the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons students will premiere new commissions at public performances throughout New York City including at its annual winter and spring concerts.
The initiative will also support the creation of a new, evening-length, site-specific work in collaboration with composer Paola Prestini and radio host, composer, and producer Jad Abumrad, based on the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard to be premiered in the spring of 2025. This new work will be dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the passage of the NYC landmarks law, the legislation that created the Landmarks Preservation Commission and established the preservation law in NYC. This important new work, with the working title Port City, aligns with the NYC Landmarks60 Alliance’s interest in preserving and honoring the diverse history of New York City.
2023-24 Artist Mentors
A Brooklyn Youth Chorus alumna, jazz vocalist Melanie Charles graduated from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music with a BFA in vocal jazz performance, and has performed as a leader and as a "featured singer" at top venues worldwide. Full Bio →
Laquita Mitchell, soprano, is a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner, with a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music, and Bachelor’s from Westminster Choir College. Full Bio →
Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is “not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing-making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy). Full Bio →
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone, is an internationally acclaimed opera singer and musical innovator who has premiered multiple new roles on the world’s top stages and continues to trailblaze in musical collaborations and projects that cross many genres. Full Bio →
Masterclass Clinicians
Laquita Mitchell, soprano, is a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner, with a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music, and Bachelor’s from Westminster Choir College. Full Bio →
American mezzo-soprano Rebecca Ringle Kamarei, known for her “outstanding” voice of "otherworldly luminousness" has earned acclaim for international opera and concert performances.2022-2023 included returns to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of La Traviata and The Hours. Full Bio →
2023-24 Composer(s) in Residence:
Yaz Lancaster (they/them) is a Black transdisciplinary artist most interested in relational aesthetics, fragments, and liberatory politics. Their work is situated in a queer, collaborative, DIY ethos; and is presented in many different genres and mediums. Full Bio →
Alev Lenz is a German-Turkish singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Lenz's rich catalog of compositions fuse distinctive musical worlds into something that is authentically hers - compelling songs for both record and screen. Full Bio →
2023-24 Artistic Advisor:
A conductor, composer, nonprofit strategist, and equity coach, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson is the President and CEO of Equity Sings. Committed to the principles of equity and justice, Equity Sings assists organizations in remaining relevant in the 21st century. Full Bio →
Fall 2023 Events
First visit from Artistic Advisor, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson - August 2023
Port City Workshop with Sxip Shirey at the Agger Fish Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard - September 26, 2023
Second visit from Artistic Advisor, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson - September/October 2023
First visits from Composers-in-Residence Yaz Lancaster and Alev Lenz - October/November 2023
Second visits from Composers-in-Residence Yaz Lancaster and Alev Lenz - November 2023
Third visit from Artistic Advisor, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson - November 2023
Masterclass with Laquita Mitchell - December 1, 2023
Holiday Harmonies & Winters Song performances - December 15 & 16
About The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation
The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation was initiated by Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Ambassador Carl Spielvogel to continue and extend their long-term commitment to the common good and the public interest. With this focus, deeply rooted in inclusiveness, social equity, and community service, the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation creates and supports original projects based on results-driven and innovative strategies. The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation funds projects which demonstrate creative promise in four priority areas: projects focused on civic leadership, public affairs and diplomacy; projects of cultural merit; original educational initiatives; and science and medicine, in support of the advancement of the field of health.
Learn More at www.diamonstein-spielvogelfoundation.org
