Dear Friends of Brooklyn Youth Chorus,

As we all commemorate the 25th Anniversary of September 11, Brooklyn Youth Chorus looks back at a quarter century of performances in service to those we lost and those who survived and the civic mantle that the arts and the Chorus took on to help rebuild the heart and life of our city.

At the first anniversary of September 11, our young singers joined the New York Philharmonic for the world premiere of John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls, commissioned in response to the September 11 attacks. The work gave voice to the grief, resilience, and humanity of a city still finding its way forward. The recording of those performances earned Brooklyn Youth Chorus a GRAMMY® Award and the piece won Adams a Pulitzer, ut the significance of this work goes far beyond awards.

That same year, Brooklyn Youth Chorus participated in City-organized commemorations, starting  with a candlelight performance in Prospect Park for the first anniversary. For the second anniversary, Brooklyn Youth Chorus sang at Ground Zero. Mayor Bloomberg wanted children to lead the commemoration, because in his words "it is in them that the spirit of the city lives." Since that time we have sung the National Anthem at many of New York City’s official Ground Zero ceremonies, sending soloists in recent years. The 10th Anniversary marked the opening and dedication of the National September 11 Memorial and was attended by Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. 

This year, as New York marks the 25th anniversary of September 11, Brooklyn Youth Chorus will once again come together to sing the National Anthem as part of the official commemoration ceremony at the September 11 Memorial. Just days later, from September 16–19, our singers will return to Lincoln Center to perform John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls with the New York Philharmonic. These performances will mark only the second time the New York Philharmonic has presented On the Transmigration of Souls and once again Brooklyn Youth Chorus will share the stage with them, this time under the baton of new Artistic Director, Gustavo Dudamel.

In preparation, for our return to this meaningful piece, we invited Brooklyn Youth Chorus alumni who sang in the world premiere to return and share their memories with our current choristers. It was incredibly moving to hear them describe what it was like to be young people living through September 11—and the profound responsibility they felt performing this work for audiences who had experienced the tragedy right alongside them.

They understood that they were not simply performing a piece of music.

They were helping their city face its grief and begin to heal.

Through those performances, they became part of the civic heart of New York City.

Now, 25 years later, a new generation is taking up that responsibility.

Our current choristers were not yet born when September 11 occurred. Through On the Transmigration of Souls, they are encountering the stories of that day through the words of New Yorkers—words taken from the handmade posters that appeared throughout the city in the aftermath of the tragedy. They are learning to remember an event they did not experience themselves, and to understand what it meant to their city, their families, and the generations who came before them.

This is one of the most meaningful roles an arts organization can play.

Music cannot change what happened. But it can help us remember. It can help us grieve. It can bring generations together. And it can help a city carry its stories forward.

That has been part of Brooklyn Youth Chorus’ story for 25 years.

The premiere of On the Transmigration of Souls was an inflection point for Brooklyn Youth Chorus, ushering in a new era of artistic excellence and civic and cultural engagement. Today, Brooklyn Youth Chorus is a GRAMMY® Award-winning youth arts organization serving more than 600 young people each year through rigorous choral education, professional-level performance opportunities, and community-based programs. We are committed to ensuring that financial circumstances are never a barrier to participation, providing more than $300,000 in financial aid annually, along with college and career readiness support and free public school programming.

As we approach the 25th anniversary, we are honored to see our young singers become part of this continuing story—using their voices not only to perform, but to remember, connect, and contribute to the healing of their city.

September 11, 2001 changed New York forever. Twenty-five years later, we are still finding ways to remember together.

And we are proud to be a source of memory, healing and hope.

Warmest Regards

Dianne Berkun Menaker
Founder and Artistic Director