The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative
Brooklyn Youth Chorus believes that rigorous music education, artistically excellent performances, and groundbreaking commissions of new music are the foundation of a strong choral music training program.
With the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative, Brooklyn Youth Chorus expands its emphasis on the importance of contemporary music, including commissioning, collaborating with living composers and performers, and deep explorations on the repertoire and performance practices of different musical genres.
With the support of a generous innovation grant from The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation, the entire student body from earliest training divisions to most-experienced performing ensemble singer will have the opportunity to interact and work with live composers, learn contemporary performance techniques, and premiere newly commissioned music.
About The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative
Through this major initiative, choristers work with artists such as Melanie Charles, Rebecca Ringle Kamarei, Laquita Mitchell, and Davóne Tines as artist mentors and masterclass clinicians. It also establishes two new composer residencies and adds the position of artistic programming advisor. Throughout the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons students will premiere new commissions at public performances throughout New York City including at its annual winter and spring concerts.
The initiative will also support the creation of a new, evening-length, site-specific work in collaboration with composer Paola Prestini and radio host, composer, and producer Jad Abumrad, based on the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard to be premiered in the spring of 2025. This new work will be dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the passage of the NYC landmarks law, the legislation that created the Landmarks Preservation Commission and established the preservation law in NYC. This important new work, with the working title Port City, aligns with the NYC Landmarks60 Alliance’s interest in preserving and honoring the diverse history of New York City.
2024-25 Artist Advisors
A conductor, composer, nonprofit strategist, and equity coach, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson is the President and CEO of Equity Sings. Committed to the principles of equity and justice, Equity Sings assists organizations in remaining relevant in the 21st century.
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Dr. Diana V. Sáez is the Director of Choral Activities at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, directing the University Chorale, Treble Voices, and Choral Society. As a leading specialist in the field of Latin American music, Dr. Sáez is a frequent guest conductor, adjudicator, and lecturer in both the United States and abroad. Full Bio →
2024-25 Composer(s) in Residence
Kenyon Duncan is a Brooklyn-based composer-performer, teaching artist, and producer from Northern California. Grounded in the sonic traditions of the Black diaspora, Kenyon’s creative practice engages questions of embodiment and placemaking. Full Bio →
Angélica Negrón is a Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist. She writes music for voices, orchestras, and film as well as robots, toys, and plants. Angélica is known for playing with the unexpected intersection of classical and electronic music, unusual instruments, and found sounds.
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2024-25 Artist Mentors
Soprano Leah Hawkins is the recipient of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2024 Beverly Sills Artist Award and a graduate of their Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Additional honors include the Marian Anderson Award, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Women in Classical Music Career Advancement Award, and a Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant. Full Bio →
Soprano Laquita Mitchell consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide, having recently been nominated for a Grammy for her contribution as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York.
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Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is “not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing-making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy). Full Bio →
Davóne Tines, heralded as an artist "changing what it means to be a classical singer (The New Yorker) and “[one] of the most powerful voices of our time” (Los Angeles Times), is a pathbreaking artist whose work encompasses a diverse repertoire, ranging from early music to new commissions by leading composers, while exploring the social issues of today.
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2023-24 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative Artists
Artist Mentors
Melanie Charles
Laquita Mitchell
Karen Slack
Davóne Tines
Composers-In-Residence
Alev Lenz
Yaz Lancaster
Masterclass Clinicians
Rebecca Ringle Kamarei
Karen Slack
About The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation
The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation was initiated by Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Ambassador Carl Spielvogel to continue and extend their long-term commitment to the common good and the public interest. With this focus, deeply rooted in inclusiveness, social equity, and community service, the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation creates and supports original projects based on results-driven and innovative strategies. The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation funds projects which demonstrate creative promise in four priority areas: projects focused on civic leadership, public affairs and diplomacy; projects of cultural merit; original educational initiatives; and science and medicine, in support of the advancement of the field of health.
Learn More at www.diamonstein-spielvogelfoundation.org
