News / BYCA Notes Archive

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 3rd, members of our Board of Trustees and distinguished guests officially inaugurated the new home of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA) at 179 Pacific Street. After ten years of growth, with swelling numbers of students and expanded program offerings, we had outgrown our Court Street headquarters - so we were thrilled when Independence Community Bank made a building available to us just around the corner. It took months of planning and construction, but what we created was worth the effort!

The sparkling new facility - almost 6,000 square feet of space - accommodates two bigger and better rehearsal studios, private practice rooms and lesson studios, a music resource library of scores and recordings, and ample office space for our growing staff. These facilities will enable BYCA to achieve many of our long-range goals and plans:
* Increase enrollment from the current 200 to 300 over the next few years
* Offer new elective courses including: classical solo voice, ear training and sight singing, music theory, vocal jazz improvisation, and musical theatre workshop
* Offer instrumental lessons, including private and group voice instruction
* Expand our pre-professional training program, including merit-based scholarships
* Provide a Music Resource Library, accessible to the public, housing an extensive collection of choral scores, specialized audio and video recordings, and audio, video and computer equipment
* Offer Teacher-training workshops and master classes for New York's music educators
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When the New York Philharmonic commissioned John Adams to create a meditative tribute to the victims, survivors, and heroes of September 11th, the renowned composer visualized a new role for the children's chorus in contemporary classical music. Mr. Adams and the Philharmonic's new Music Director Lorin Maazel were unanimous in selecting the Brooklyn Youth Chorus to realize that vision at the world premiere of the emotionally charged On the Transmigration of Souls.

"It's common to give the children's choir a certain 'ethereal' or 'angelic' role in a big concert piece," commented Adams in the New York Philharmonic's Playbill. "I didn't do quite the same thing. I wanted the children's choir not just for these qualities but also because theirs is acoustically and timbrally a very different sound from the mature voices of an adult chorus. So I used them a lot and didn't isolate them or give them the usual 'innocent' role. In fact they are right there in the thick of things, singing along with the adults and orchestra."

The extraordinary rhythmic and harmonic complexity of Adams' new work would have been a formidable challenge for any chorus - children or adults. BYC's choristers met that challenge with skill and artistry, premiering the 25-minute piece from memory and rising to new heights of musicianship in the process. John Adams describes "Souls" as a "memory space, a place where you can go and be alone with your thoughts and emotions." While listeners may have been alone with their thoughts, they were certainly not alone in sharing their praise and enthusiasm for the performance and the composer. The four performances, September 19, 20, 21, and 24, received enthusiastic praise from sold-out audiences each night, and considerable acclaim from newspaper and magazine critics. In addition, the Thursday night concert was broadcast live on WQXR, and Saturday's performance was heard on National Public Radio. From our first rehearsal in Brooklyn to the final performance, Mr. Adams formed a special relationship with BYC's choristers. "They are a very special group of young artists" said Adams, "innately musical with an extraordinary rhythmic sense, and most of all, capable of producing a purity of sound that puts them in a class with the angels."
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BYC was honored to be selected to perform at the prestigious American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division Convention in Pittsburgh on February 16th. The Chorus presented a challenging program of contemporary music, featuring the first four composers to be commissioned as part of the Chorus's new music commissioning initiative. Beginning with Jackson Berkey's Gloria in Excelsis Deo, the Concert Chorus then performed four commissioned works: Heyoka Te Deum, by James MacMillan; Will There Really Be a Morning and Na Ni-Na by jazz composer Kirk Nurock; and What We Are, (world premiere) by Daniel Bernard Roumain, who was present to accompany the Chorus at the piano.

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"The Brooklyn Youth Chorus is a remarkable group of young musicians. They perform as one, with the most unified sound any composer could ever ask for." -Daniel Bernard Roumain

To begin the celebration of our 10th Anniversary year (2002), BYC launched a commissioning initiative with a special emphasis on American composers. To date, composers James MacMillan, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Jackson Berkey, Kirk Nurock and Shafer Mahoney have created new works for the Chorus. This interaction between the Chorus and composers has been a remarkably enriching experience for all involved. From the rehearsal studio to the concert hall, the composers are enjoying the unique beauty and power of BYC's young voices, and the choristers are engaged in learning about the creative process of composition.

The commissioning program provides our choristers with original repertoire that complements their skills and artistic sensibilities; contributes to the canon of quality works for the children's chorus; and enlivens BYC's concerts with exciting new compositions representing diverse cultures and musical genres.
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In July 2001, the Concert Chorus made its first German tour, competing in the picturesque town of Wernigerode in the 2nd Annual Johannes Brahms International Choral Festival and Competition. With 31 adult and 11 children's choirs from 16 nations participating, BYC-the only U.S. choir to compete-was proud to bring home the gold.

In addition to the Gold Diploma, our Concert Chorus took 2nd Place Honors in the Children's Chorus Category. Jury member Jerry Jordon called BYC's performance a "tour de force." The award, BYC's first in a European competition, was a fitting conclusion to the Chorus's first decade of music-making and a sign of things to come as we move into our second. After the festival, BYC performed for enthusiastic audiences in the small towns of Borken and Fulda.
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View our Germany Tour Photo Album

The 2001-2002 season brought a whirlwind of high-profile television appearances for the Concert Chorus - a record six engagements, ranging from televised live concerts at Madison Square Garden to late-night TV before studio audiences.

On September 7 and 10th, BYC performed at Madison Square Garden in the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Celebration (aired on Nov. 13th on CBS and repeated a number of times on VH1). Choristers shared the stage with pop superstars Debra Cox, Mia, Tamiya and Monica, singing Heal the World, and also sang My Baby with singer Lil' Romeo.

On December 4th, BYC was prominently featured in the Martha Stewart Home for the Holidays Christmas special on CBS. They sang a variety of international holiday carols in segments throughout the program, including the show's opening and final credits.

Later in December, BYC wrapped up the holiday season singing back-up with the popular music group P.O.D. on The Late Show with David Letterman - "We are the youth of the nation!"

In 2002 BYC appeared again with P.O.D. on Saturday Night Live, and performed with Andrea Bocelli on the CBS Early Show singing L'Incontro (The Meeting). Fox 5's Good Day New York featured the choristers in a live broadcast from BYCA's new rehearsal space where they previewed upcoming premieres by composers Daniel Bernard Roumain and Kirk Nurock.
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