Mission and Values
Brooklyn Youth Chorus nurtures and develops young singers of diverse backgrounds through artistic excellence and innovation in choral music performance, training, and the creation of new works.
Brooklyn Youth Chorus stands for:
ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE: We raise the standards of music education and exceed expectations for choral performance
DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE: Our nurturing environment fosters personal growth and confidence while teaching professionalism and providing transferable life skills
ACCESS & INCLUSION: Our community ensures absolute value and respect for each individual, and an appreciation and understanding of the broad spectrum of all our differences
INNOVATION & CREATIVITY: We embrace new artistic frontiers through our three-fold identity as an educator, performer, and creator
LEADERSHIP: We expand the expected boundaries for what a youth chorus can achieve for its young people, audiences, and the art form itself
Brooklyn Youth Chorus Bio
BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS’s Grammy Award-winning ensemble, led by Founder & Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker, has collaborated with a range of organizations and artists including the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Joe Hisaishi, The National, David Byrne, Wye Oak, Bon Iver, Shara Nova, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, Barbra Streisand, Arcade Fire, Sir Elton John, and Grizzly Bear.
As a commissioner of new music, the Chorus has introduced more than 120 original works and world premieres by contemporary composers, including collaborations with Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, Tania León, David Lang, Nico Muhly, Angélica Negrón, Bryce Dessner, Paola Prestini, Nathalie Joachim, Paul Moravec, Toshi Reagon, Alev Lenz, Anna Clyne, Aleksandra Vrebalov, John King, and William Brittelle. The Chorus has a strong reputation as producer of original works; most recently with Silent Voices: Lovestate, premiering Off-Broadway at The New Victory Theater in 2019. 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.
Founded in 1992, Brooklyn Youth Chorus has served nearly 10,000 students in its after-school and public-school programs. The Chorus’s faculty teach a range of repertoire and styles using founding artistic director Dianne Berkun Menaker’s Cross-Choral Training® method, emphasizing healthy and versatile vocal technique, music theory, sight-singing and ear training.