BYCA Hires Two New Artistic Staff Members

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA) today announced it has hired two new artistic staff members - Elizabeth Woodhouse has joined in the new position of Associate Music Director and David Harris has joined as the new conductor of BYCA's growing Young Men's Ensemble. Both musicians have signed on to support BYCA as it significantly advances and expands its music education program and performance schedule.

"We are so delighted to add two very talented people to the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy artistic team at such an exciting time in BYC's history," said Dianne Berkun, BYCA Founder and Artistic Director. "As BYCA nears the 20th anniversary of training young voices, strengthening this organization with new artistic staff and fresh energy is essential for our continued development and progress."

Elizabeth Woodhouse is now BYCA's second full-time artistic staff person, and is responsible for conducting BYCA's Junior and Intermediate divisions. She will also focus on strengthening BYCA's expansive music electives program and public schools program. Elizabeth recently served as Music Director of the Rocky Mountain Children's Choir in Denver, Colorado where she conducted numerous ensembles, coordinated all performances and managed the outreach program. (Full bio below.)

David Harris will join BYCA part-time as the conductor of the Young Men's Ensemble, and will be working not only to advance the talents of BYC's young men with changed voices, but also to further develop this young division. David also currently serves as artistic director of the New World Music Festival, the Music Director of the Columbia University Glee Club and The Brearley Singers, and choir director at the Collegiate School. (Full bio below.)

This is an exciting year for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, as it already has a fall schedule full of terrific events at some of the city's most prominent performance venues: In October, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus will perform Howard Shore's score to Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers at Radio City Music Hall; in November, the chorus will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; also in November, BYC will perform the music of Leonard Bernstein with New York City Opera at Lincoln Center; and in December, BYC will accompany Mark Morris Dance Company in The Hard Nut at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music.

About Elizabeth Woodhouse

Ms. Woodhouse received a Batchelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003, and completed her Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Ohio State University in June 2009, studying with Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. While at OSU, Ms. Woodhouse conducted various ensembles including a 16-member female a capella ensemble, and the Women's Glee Club. Prior to her graduate studies, she served as the Music Director of the Rocky Mountain Children's Choir in Denver, Colorado where she conducted numerous ensembles, coordinated all performances and managed the outreach program. Ms. Woodhouse was invited to be the children's choir clinician at the 2005 Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network Conference and the 2006 Rocky Mountain Conference of The United Methodist Church Music Leaders Event. She also served as conductor for the Patriot League Women's Honor Choir in Greeley, Colorado in 2006. She is currently a member of the American Choral Directors Association and the Pi Kappa Lambda music Honor Society.

About David Harris

David Harris is a freelance musician and American music specialist. He is artistic director of the New World Music Festival the music director of the Columbia University Glee Club and The Brearley Singers, conductor of the Young Men's Chorus at the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy, a choir director at the Collegiate School and a member of C4 the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective. He is also an active theater musician, having worked with the Brooklyn Theater Arts Project in the fall of 2009 and as music director and orchestrator, is in the process of developing "Hansel and Gretel: A Folk Musical" by Carly and Chad Howard for its 2010 premiere with the Sparrowtree Theater Company. In addition to conducting and teaching, David composes a variety of music and is currently working on several projects. He has six professional recordings available on iTunes and CDBaby. He has a DMA in conducting from the University of Colorado and degrees from the Universities of Alabama and Oklahoma.

About the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy

Now in its nineteenth season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC) is one of the country's leading children's choruses and is the ensemble of choice for internationally renowned orchestras and artists. Under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun, BYC has an international reputation for programmatic and artistic excellence.

The Chorus studies and performs a wide range of music-classical and non-classical-and has an active commissioning program to develop new works across a variety of genres. The Chorus has performed with renowned artists such as Elton John, Lou Reed and John Legend, and has performed under the batons of Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, Leon Botstein, and many others. In 2002, BYC debuted with the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel in On the Transmigration of Souls, for which the Chorus won a GRAMMY® Award.

The Chorus receives its training from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA)--a performance-based vocal music education program serving more than 300 students annually in six ensembles. The Chorus draws students from all over the city and reflects the broad diversity of the Metropolitan area.