HOWARD GILMAN FOUNDATION GIFTS YOUNG PEOPLE’S CHORUS
OF NEW YORK CITY WITH A FIRST-TIME GRANT OF $75,000
September 8, 2015 — Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) is pleased to announce its first grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation. The grant of $75,000 was issued to YPC for its New Music for New Audiences contemporary music programs, as well as for general support of the organization.
Upon receiving the grant, Francisco J. Núñez, artistic director and founder of YPC, said: “We are enormously grateful to the Howard Gilman Foundation for its remarkable generosity. This support will help YPC continue to expand the reach and awareness of new music throughout New York City and beyond, and foster an environment of creativity, innovation, and excellence among young people.”
New music projects supported by this grant during the 2015-16 season include YPC’s Transient Glory and Radio Radiance series, which since 2001 have commissioned more than 80 pieces of music for young voices from today’s most distinguished composers, making an important impact on the ever-evolving landscape of music in the 21st century.
All commissions are integrated into YPC’s standard repertoire and are performed by the chorus as part of its programming in concerts, on tour, on recordings, and in competition.
Transient Glory
This season YPC has commissioned Mason Bates, Michael Gordon, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Joan LaBarbara, Jessie Montgomery, and Charles Wuorinen for Transient Glory, YPC’s groundbreaking commissioning series that spotlights the children’s chorus as a serious instrument capable of making music of the highest quality during that fleeting period of time when their voices are imbued with a particular poignancy and innocence. These new works will be premiered by YPC in two performances in April: at Merkin Concert Hall on April 16 and at National Sawdust on April 19. In November, YPC will release its third Transient Glory recording, featuring live YPC performances of works by John Corigliano, Paquito D’Rivera, Michael Gordon, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, and Bora Yoon.
Radio Radiance
Radio Radiance is an extension of Transient Glory that premieres a work in performance in New York City and later makes the work available to choruses across the country, along with contextual material such as podcasts and study guides. The live premieres of the five new 2015 Radio Radiance works by Samuel Adler, Ryan Lott, Caroline Mallonee, Frank J. Oteri, and Aaron Siegel were recorded at SubCulture in partnership with David Osenberg of WWFM, The Classical Network. They are being broadcast on WWFM’s popular “Celebrating our Musical Future” series hosted by David Osenberg, on Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m., with a repeat broadcast the following day at 12 noon. The program can be heard on the live stream at www.wwfm.org
The Howard Gilman Foundation honors the legacy of the late Howard Gilman, who believed in the power of the arts to transform lives, by supporting the most robust, innovative, and promising performing arts organizations in New York City. From 1981, when the Howard Gilman Foundation was established, until his death in 1998, Mr. Gilman’s passion for the arts was exemplified by his dedication to nurturing artists and sustaining arts institutions. Today, the Foundation supports three disciplines – dance, theatre, and music – and dedicates its efforts to organizations that are based in Mr. Gilman’s birthplace and hometown: New York City. More information from www.howardgilmanfoundation.org/
The Young People’s Chorus of New York City is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned not only for its superb virtuosity, but as a model for an inclusive society that is being replicated globally. Founded in 1988 by Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur “genius” Fellow, YPC has heightened an awareness of the ability of a youth choir to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry. More information from www.ypc.org
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