Silent Voices: Lovestate, New Victory, 2019
At Brooklyn Youth Chorus, we believe in shaping the future of choral music. As a bold commissioner and producer, we empower our singers to co-create groundbreaking original works, pushing the boundaries of youth choral artistry. From site-specific productions like the critically acclaimed Port(al) to over 120 commissioned premieres by leading composers, we bring innovative new music to life on stage.
Port(al)
Port(al) is an innovative choral theater experience, co-created by Dianne Berkun Menaker, Paola Prestini, Jad Abumrad, and Jessica Grindstaff. This mesmerizing work explores the rich history and ongoing evolution of the Brooklyn Navy Yard through a captivating blend of song, movement, and immersive storytelling, connecting past, present, and future.
Silent Voices
Silent Voices is a groundbreaking, multi-year concert series by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, conceived to amplify the voices of the silenced and marginalized through the power of young artists. Launched in 2017, this multimedia and multi-composer project confronts urgent societal issues like identity, inequality, and human rights. Featuring diverse commissioned works and collaborations with acclaimed artists, Silent Voices combines powerful choral music with spoken word, video, and personal narratives to inspire change and affirm a vision for a more inclusive future.
Black Mountain Songs
Black Mountain Songs is a captivating choral and visual work by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, commissioned by BAM and curated by Bryce Dessner and Richard Reed Parry. This multidisciplinary production celebrates the radical, collaborative spirit of the influential Black Mountain College, weaving together new music from diverse composers with evocative visual elements to rekindle a unique thread of artistic freedom.
She is Called: Dear Stranger
She Is Called: Dear Stranger is an original choral/theater production from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, conceived by Founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker. This unique work delves into themes of gender, identity, and longing, presented as a resonant tone poem. Featuring commissions from contemporary composers and collaborations with established theater artists, the project empowers young singers to explore these profound subjects, creating an impactful and innovative artistic experience.
Tell the Way
Tell The Way is a commissioned collaborative work created for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus by the ubiquitous Nico Muhly. Loosely based on medieval and colonial English travel narratives, the work draws from American folk sources, prayers for the Royal Navy, early colonial diaries, Mandeville, Herodotus and Marco Polo. Nico Muhly’s music is propulsive travel-music, but at the heart of Tell The Way are three meditative collaborations between Muhly and Bishi, Muhly and Bryce Dessner and Muhly and Sam Amidon. The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) augments the voices of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Bryce’s guitar, Sam’s banjo and fiddle, and Bishi’s sitar.