Audiophile Audition Review

Our Latest Review by Audiophile Audition:

April 9, 2008

A Children's Chorus, but don't touch that dial!

Transient Glory II

WEIR: Little tree; I carry your heart with me; now is a ship;

MACHOVER: I Dreamt a Dream

BURGON: Shirtless Stephen (and the Children’s Crusade)

VIGELAND: Miracles

SHENG: The Boatmen’s Song

LEES: The Nervous Family

PAPOULIS: Panta Rhei

JAMES: NYC Playground

NYMAN: A Child’s View of Color

ARGENTO: Orpheus

DEL TREDICI: Four Heartfelt Anthems

John Holden, piano/ Perspectives Ensemble/ Extension Ensemble/

Young People’s Chorus of New York City

Francisco J. Nunez, conductor

Vital Records VR2017 (www.ypc.org), 77:36

Don’t let the fact that this is a young person’s chorus turn you off to this remarkable recital. As you can see in the heading, the composer list is quite formidable, and this album contains some incredible music that is rendered with love and highly competent execution. Judith Weir’s Little Tree trilogy contains some breathtakingly beautiful music, while some other pieces, like Kevin James’s NYC Playground are far grittier and realistic in their depictions of contemporary life through the eyes and ears of children. Benjamin Lees taps into the child (and adult) psyche by talking us through the Nervous Family, where the sounds and syllables of the texts are mimicked to outlandish effect in the music as well.

These are just a few of the highlights on a disc that has nothing but highlights. The recorded sound is very clear and concise; perhaps just a little stuffy - would have benefited from some more ambiance, even though the recording was made at the 92nd Y in New York City. This ensemble has been around since 1988 and is one of the finest of its kind anywhere in the world, also the resident choir of the “Y” and of WNYC, New York’s top public radio station. Conductor Francisco J. Nunez has done an amazing job with the 61-member ensemble, and this disc is so far one of my top picks of the year. I cannot tell you how surprised I am by that. -- Steven Ritter

Personal Reviews needed: TGII CD

The newest edition  of the YPC CD family has been launched: Transient Glory II is available, being sold on cdbaby.com and receiving its first reviews from major magazines!

Here is the caption of the press release that was sent out:

YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY RELEASES

TRANSIENT GLORY II

A RECORDING OF 11 WORLD PREMIERES - ON JANUARY 8, 2008

WORKS BY DOMINICK ARGENTO, GEOFFREY BURGON, DAVID DEL TREDICI, 

TOD MACHOVER, BRIGHT SHENG, JUDITH WEIR, 

AND OTHERS ARE INCLUDED ON THIS VITAL RECORDS CD.

You can also download individual songs from itunes.com or purchase the whole CD from amazon.com and ypc.org. But, I rather you purchase it from cdbaby.com

I am happy to report that YPC will receive glowing reviews for the new TGII CD from "Fanfare" magazine, "BBC" magazine and many others.  How do I know that the reviews are glowing?  The magazine editors emailed me an advance copy and the reviews are great!  I will post a link to the review once they are officially published.

But, we need personal reviews too. I am hoping that you would visit www.cdbaby.com, sign in and write up a review.  It's free, fun and will help our CD sales. Or, better yet, you can purchase the CD and support the YPC.

When you visit cdbaby.com, you can hear a 2-minute clip of most of the commissioned pieces.  Or, you can visit itunes.com and hear 30-second clips.  Either way, tell us what you think.

You can also write about our first CD TRANSIENT GLORY which started this whole adventure in the classical music world.  The first CD received so many raving reviews, it was incredible. You can visit our website, ypc.org/transientglory and read them all. 

Again, I do hope you purchase the CD and write a review and tell your friends to do the same.

Thank you,

Francisco J. Nunez

Meet ONE of the Transient Glory composers

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) will perform

at their 7th Transient Glory Concert on Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. You thought last year’s Transient Glory program was pushing the envelope? Wait until this year! Douglas J. Cuomo’s new work Fortune is based on an ancient Taoist tale that will have the chorus members accompanying themselves on homemade percussion instruments. Plus, the concert will feature the works of 6 amazing composers including:

1. Joan Tower (Who just won several Grammy's)
2. Douglas J. Coumo (who wrote the theme music for "Sex in the City"),
3. Ko Matsushita, who is travelling in from Japan,
4. Bora Yoon (an incredible young composer who will use cool cell phone techniques)
5. And a new Music/Film collaboration with Michael Gordon (Bang on a Can Co-Founder)with Film maker Bill Morrison.
6. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (who wrote - Ragtime, Once on This Island and more...)
   
   Here is an update on ONE of our composers:
   Douglas J. Cuomo
   
   

Have you visited Doug Cuomo's website? You can hear excerpts from some of his impressive pieces such as SEX & THE CITY the TV show and new movie and many other film and TV shows. I just found out he also arranged, produced and conducted strings for numerous pop music artists including:

BRITNEY SPEARS
OOPS I DID IT AGAIN (Jive Records).
#1 pop albumand

N'SYNC
N'SYNC (RCA)
#1 pop album and #1 single

Interestingly he has written only few choral works - including: KYRIE (from And On Earth, Peace: A Chanticleer Mass) http://www.chanticleer.org/about.cfm

and now of course, a new choral work for The Young People's Chorus (www.ypc.org) entitled FORTUNE. This will be his first work for children's chorus.

To figure out what to do, Doug visited one of our YPC December rehearsals and even brought his children to our Family Concert at Carnegie Hall. He thoroughly enjoyed listening to the YPC and was excited and choose an amazing text for his new piece.

Tickets are on sale now at the Columbia University Miller Theater

box office: call 212-854-7799.
Student/parent tickets are $10Adult tickets are $25

Join us on http://www.facebook.com/ groups: Transient Glory VI

or visit www.ypc.org/transientglory

A Decade of Dreams: Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

A Decade of Dreams: Casita Maria

A Decade of Dreams: Elizabeth and the Catapult

"The self-assured Elizabeth and the Catapult prove what a sultry-voiced Greenwich Village habitue with a Norah Jones jones should do: Just let it flow"
-The Boston Globe

YPC Alumnus, Elizabeth Ziman, has been added to the star powered lineup of our 10th Anniversary Gala Concert that includes Country music sensation Rosanne Cash, Reggae Superstar Maxi Priest, and American Idol finalist Phil Stacey.

Join the us at Carnegie Hall on October 22nd and watch our young dreamers join an alumnus dreamer on stage.

For more information about the YPC's 10th Anniversary Gala visit http://ypc.org/gala

A Decade of Dreams: Save the Children

On September 6, 2007, the Young People's Chorus of New York City performed at the 75th Anniversary Benefit for Save the Children. There was much excitement as five of our young choristers from the Cantare Division had the privilege of escorting former President Bill Clinton, former President George Bush, Sr., and Melinda Gates to the stage as they were honored throughout the night. It was a tremendous opportunity for the children to meet these high-profile people throughout the night. One chorister, Stephan, exclaimed, “I’m never washing this shirt again!” after Samuel L. Jackson greeted him backstage with a pat on the back.

The Young People’s Chorus was introduced at the end of the evening by Samuel L. Jackson, and as he announced the choristers, he was met with overwhelming applause as audience members immediately clapped in recognition. A special arrangement of Jim Papoulis’ “Give Us Hope” was prepared for the grand finale of the event, with Jim Papoulis himself playing the piano, and featuring the incredible solo voice of Tony-Award-Winner Idina Menzel. The choristers were thrilled as Idina Menzel smiled, sang, and hugged them on stage.

- Sophia Miller, Assistant Conductor