Voices for the Future Campaign
For 35 years, Brooklyn Youth Chorus has stood as an unparalleled choral music organization, transforming the lives of young people by redefining what they can achieve. New York City schoolchildren from varied backgrounds and economic circumstances, join as beginners, and progress through rigorous training that prepares them to perform with the world’s leading artists—from major orchestras to indie innovators and rock legends.
What’s more, at Brooklyn Youth Chorus, young people not only perform great music, they help create it. Each year, choristers collaborate with acclaimed composers to create groundbreaking works written specifically for young voices. Beyond the stage, choristers build lasting friendships, find community, and gain access to transformative educational and artistic opportunities.
Through our $10 million Voices for the Future Campaign, Brooklyn Youth Chorus will be able to welcome more students, open more locations, expand and deepen artist collaborations, ensure access through financial aid and school partnerships, and make these life-changing opportunities available to many more New York City young people for generations to come.
Our Track Record
For more than three decades, over 10,000 choristers have received transformational arts education programming with unrivaled vocal training, genre-defying artistic experiences, and a holistic approach to music education and personal development.
When we invest in young voices, we build a brighter future for our city and our world.
Brooklyn Youth Chorus is:
A GRAMMY-Award Winning Artist who regularly appears on the world’s greatest stages and sound studios including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the Tokyo Dome, and performs, records, and partners with great musicians across every genre: Barbra Streisand, Beyoncé, Kronos Quartet, the New York Philharmonic, and everything in between.
A New Music Pioneer, defining a new art form of choral music theatre, commissioning groundbreaking work at a scale and vision beyond any other youth chorus, with hundreds of commissions and world premieres from a broad array of innovative composers including multiple Pulitzer-prize and GRAMMY-award winning artists.
An Innovative Educator, one of few choral music organizations nationwide that teaches both science-backed vocal technique and music theory, through a curriculum grounded in Founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker’s trademarked Cross-Choral Training® pedagogy.
An Access & Equity Champion that provides over $300,000 of financial aid each year plus college planning and application support, ensuring that over 95% of our seniors go on to college.
Brooklyn Youth Chorus is at a pivotal moment. After 35 years, we are at the peak of our artistic and educational success and we are an international model for vocal music education and performance. Despite this rich history, shifts in the funding landscape threaten our sustainability and our ability to build and grow. Even a cultural institution like ours is vulnerable to these trends, and we must chart a new course to support this next exciting era.
The Opportunity
Our Future
The Voices for the Future comprehensive campaign aims to meet this moment by raising $10 million over four years to invest in the following three areas:
Expand Our Impact: Secure and grow Brooklyn Youth Chorus, expanding our student body by 50% with service to more neighborhoods; training and supporting exceptional teaching artists and staff; investing in physical infrastructure; and rebuilding a strategic reserve.
Empower Every Voice: Unlock opportunities for more New York City young people by growing equitable access via expanded financial aid, public school partnership programs, and college and career readiness initiatives.
Invest in the Future of Music: Build Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s role in shaping the future of choral music through expanded commissioning and composer residencies, choral theater projects, and innovative performing, recording, and touring opportunities.
Our Invitation
Our Voices for the Future comprehensive campaign will protect a remarkable institution, fuel bold programmatic growth, drive artistic innovation, and unlock new possibilities for the young people we serve.
Campaign Goal
The Voices For The Future campaign aims to double giving at Brooklyn Youth Chorus by the 2029/30 season and will form the bedrock of ongoing support for our work and impact.
Your Support
Make a Meaningful Gift. Make a one time gift or multi-year commitment toward the campaign goal. There are many ways to give including via donor advised fund (DAF), stocks/securities, IRA rollovers, matching gifts, and planned giving.
Expand our Network. Introduce Brooklyn Youth Chorus to people, foundations, and corporations that are aligned with our mission and might be interested in advancing their philanthropic goals through a partnership with us.
Get Involved by leveraging your experience and skills to build the campaign.
Join us as we build the next chapter—together.
Brooklyn Youth Chorus Leadership
Jacqueline Aguanno
Lauren Ashcraft
Kristi Avram
Katherine Bartholomaus
Summer Craig
Tracy Garrison-Feinberg
Young Hah
Jonathan Juarbe
Rault Kehlor
Board of Trustees
Jessica Holloway, Chair
Kara Hailey, Vice Chair
Sabina Chatterjee, Treasurer
Kathleen Emberger, Secretary
Anna McNeil
Sam Nana-Sinkam
Rebecca Ringle Kamarei
Jordane Rollin
Jonathan Rouner
Lahnie Strange
Johari Jenkins Taylor
Zanella Taylor
Blake Zidell
Trustees Emeriti
Judy Berkun (in memoriam)
J. Barclay Collins II
Charlie J. Hamm
Narcissa Titman
Dick Yancey (in memoriam)
Trustee Ex Officio
Dianne Berkun Menaker,
Founder & Artistic Director
Artistic Advisory Board
John Adams
Deidre Chadwick
Rufus Collins
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Julian Crouch
Bryce Dessner
Jeremy Geffen
Andrew Hamingson
Hilda Harris
Jim Keller
Beth Morrison
Paola Prestini
R. Douglas Sheldon
Ted Sperling
Theodore Wiprud
Michelle Yagoda, M.D.
Voices for the Future Campaign Committee
Jad Abumrad
Kristina Anderson and Nathan Ophardt
Rachel and Andrew Apthorpe
Kristi and David Avram
Katherine and Gary Bartholomaus
Jonathan Juarbe
Susanna Cole and Adrienne Lloyd
Hank and Karoly Gutman
Rebecca Ringle Kamarei and Arzhang Kamarei
Joan Loughnane
Leadership Gifts
$100,000+
Anonymous
The Hearst Foundations
Alma and Morris Schapiro Fund
Tiger Baron Foundation
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Dianne Berkun Menaker, Founder & Artistic Director | dianne@brooklynyouthchorus.org
Megan Lemley, Executive Director | mlemley@brooklynyouthchorus.org
Julie Griffith, Director of Development | jgriffith@brooklynyouthchorus.org