PS22 Chorus

I just (re?)discovered this tonight. This is a public elementary school chorus from Staten Island that sing contemporary music arranged by their choral instructor. The lyrics are sometimes altered to be more age appropriate(see below) but what is clear is that these kids are having a great time. And they have pipes!

This is a genius way to get around a huge hurdle that stops so many kids from getting interested in music and the arts in school; most kids don't like chamber music or showtunes. I cannot tell you how much Billy Joel and Elton John I've sang in my life. I think if you sing long enough you learn to really appreciate chamber music, madrigals, etc. but it's really important to have a gateway drug like this.

It's how much fun this guy is having. From middle school through graduation I had somewhere between 6 and 8 different choral instructors and none of them had the enthusiasm that this guy displays. And it transfers to his students. They are clearly having a great time and want to be there. He's able to have fun, work on things he is interested in, and still be doing it all for the kids. Watching them sing makes me want to sing again.

Something else I love is how the kids are encouraged, or at least allowed, to move and sway with the music. Something I used to constantly get in trouble for in choir, all the way up through chamber choir, is that when I got really into singing a piece of music and it really moved me, it also literally moved me. I would get reprimanded for moving with the music, sometimes even dancing, without even realizing I was doing it. I think the director thought I was goofing off, but it was actually totally subconscious and completely genuine. Which is not to say this made Mr. Paul a terrible instructor(though he was, for totally unrelated reasons), you do have to learn to stay still if you are going to rehearse like you perform- and I was a senior in high school- but for Christ's sake that's what powerful music does!! It grabs you and throws you around and you can't even control it.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I got choked up listening to their cover of Lisztomania. I couldn't tell you why- but it is a great arrangement of a great song.

Final Note: The choral sections on the Passion Pit album "Manners" -in songs like Sleepyhead, Let Your Love Grow Tall and Little Secrets- is the PS22 Chorus! They actually have a section on their blog where you can watch video of them recording with Michael Angelakos. According to their website they have also met every other celebrity in the world, including President Obama. These are the luckiest kids in the world(mostly because of the music, but also a little bit because of the celebrity thing).

Their website can be found here and their YouTube page can be found here.

Final thought: Listening to these kids makes me realize I have mis-learned the words to a lot of my favorite songs.