YOUNG PEOPLE’S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY TO SING FOR
POPE FRANCIS AT WORLD TRADE CENTER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, AT 11:30 A.M.
YPC Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Núñez to Perform for Pope
At Our Lady Queen of Angels School at 4:00 p.m.
NEW YORK, NY (September 16, 2015) — The Young People’s Chorus of New York City has been invited to sing for Pope Francis on Friday, September 25, as part of his first visit to the United States. One hundred members of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, conducted by YPC Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Núñez, will perform for the pope and members of the 9/11 community during a multi-religious meeting for peace at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum that begins at 11:30 a.m. The YPC will perform a song specially arranged for the occasion.
Later in the day at 4 p.m. Mr. Núñez, who is also a composer and pianist, will perform several selections during Pope Francis’s visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem (229 East 112th Street) where Pope Francis plans to spend time with students from the school.
More information about the Pope’s three-city U.S. tour and tickets is available at
www.popefrancisvisit.com.
Since Mr. Núñez founded the Young People’s Chorus of New York City 27 years ago, the program has touched and transformed the lives of thousands of children through its mission of diversity and artistic excellence. Each year, YPC reaches over 1,400 children ages 7 to 18 of all cultural and economic backgrounds through its after-school and in-school programs. In 2011 YPC received America’s highest honor for youth programs, a National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2008 YPC was invited to sing for Pope Benedict XIII at Yankee Stadium on his first Papal visit to the United States.
Francisco J. Núñez is a composer, conductor, visionary, leading figure in music education and artistic director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. A musical prodigy, Mr. Núñez composed his first major composition, Misa Pequeña (based on the Catholic mass), at age 15. For seven years, from ages 14 to 21, he was the organist at Our Lady of Esperanza Church in his Washington Heights neighborhood. In 2011 he was named a MacArthur “genius” Fellow.
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