BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS is a Grammy Award-winning collective of young voices led by visionary Founder & Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker. “A polished ensemble of miniature professionals” (The New York Times),  the versatile Chorus fluently delivers world-class performances on stage and in the studio.

The Chorus has collaborated with an impressive range of organizations and artists, including the New York Philharmonic, The National, Wye Oak, Shara Nova, International Contemporary Ensemble, and William Brittelle, and in previous seasons with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Barbra Streisand, Arcade Fire, Sir Elton John, and Grizzly Bear. Recordings of the Chorus have been featured in major motion pictures, commercials, and live events, including several tracks in The National’s concept album I Am Easy To Find, a new work by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke for rag & bone’s Spring 2016 collection, Chanel Paris’s 2019 Capsule campaign featuring Pharrell Williams, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s OTR II World Tour. 

As a bold commissioner and producer of new music, the Chorus has introduced into the repertoire more than 120 original works and world premieres by contemporary composers, including collaborations with Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, Blues and R&B powerhouse Toshi Reagon, iconic British DJ Bishi, The National’s Bryce Dessner, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Shara Nova, Nathalie Joachim, Alev Lenz, and ubiquitous indie-classical superstar Nico Muhly.

Brooklyn Youth Chorus has garnered a strong reputation as an arts producer. In 2019, Silent Voices: Lovestate premiered Off-Broadway at The New Victory Theater. Previous productions include the first two installments of the inclusive, social justice-oriented Silent Voices series (BAM 2017; National Sawdust 2018); Black Mountain Songs (BAM Next Wave Festival 2014); and Tell the Way (St. Ann’s Warehouse 2011). The Chorus has released two albums through New Amsterdam Records—Silent Voices (2018) and Black Mountain Songs (2017)—and has appeared at important contemporary music festivals including the Ecstatic Music Festival, MusicNOW, 21c Liederabend, Barbican Mountain and Waves Festival, and the PROTOTYPE Festival.

 Press

Feature from The New York Times
Why Beyoncé Is a Fan of These Teenage Singers From Brooklyn
The acclaimed Brooklyn Youth Chorus collaborates with cutting-edge composers and has become a resource for popular musicians.

“The sheer beauty of their singing was captivating.” - The New York Times on Black Mountain Songs

“In case you haven’t seen them, director Dianne Berkun Menaker has shaped the Brooklyn Youth Chorus into a magnificent, meticulous, powerhouse of an ensemble. These works were sophisticated, employed all kinds of intricate counterpoint, required considerable amounts of what an instrumentalist would call extended technique, and the group rose to meet those demands efficiently and expertly: they schooled the old people in the house.” - New York Music Daily on Silent Voices: If You Listen

“Right out of the gate, in Caroline Shaw’s “so quietly,” the seven-stage musicianship program required for the BYC singers paid off as they conquered extremely complex rhythms with accuracy, not to mention perfect intonation. Even the microtonal slides and widely changing vocal timbres – including audible breathing – typical of Shaw were child’s play to these teens.” - Classical Voice North America on Silent Voices: Lovestate

“Though all involved can be proud of Black Mountain Songs for being an ambitious project superbly realized, perhaps Bryce Dessner and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus have reason to be most proud, given how instrumental they were in its creation.” - Textura on Black Mountain Songs

“Brooklyn Youth Chorus is as fine as it gets, in demand with the greatest orchestras and the most important composers.” - Brooklyn Rail

 Music

Albums by Brooklyn Youth Chorus

Featuring Brooklyn Youth Chorus

Click Here for the complete Brooklyn Youth Chorus discography.