Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy Opens Music Annex in Bed-Stuy

As its 20th anniversary season begins, the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus has 325 students enrolled at its headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, and the waiting list is at capacity. To meet the growing demand for the chorus's patented music-training program, the BYCA is launching its first Music Annex in a satellite location in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. This program, to be held at the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (1368 Fulton Street), will offer young choristers the exact same training they would receive at the BYCA on Pacific Street.

"Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation is thrilled to welcome the Brooklyn Youth Chorus as a residency partner," says Tracey L. Capers, Restoration's Executive Vice President of Programs and Organizational Development. "The chorus complements our other youth offerings, thereby providing Central Brooklyn residents additional artistic and youth development opportunities."

"This annex furthers our mission to serve the community by spreading quality music education far and wide," says Valerie Lewis, BYC's Executive Director. "It ensures that we will be reaching out to every neighborhood in our beloved Brooklyn for years to come."

This inaugural division is for the Preparatory Division (seven to nine year old singers). Classes will begin in October and run through June, culminating in a seasonal and year-end performance at both the Annex and the new Roulette Theater at Atlantic and 3rd Avenues. The Bed-Stuy Music Annex will be followed by several more satellite locations around the borough.

For twenty years, the mission of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy under director Dianne Berkun has been to enrich the lives of children of diverse backgrounds through the study and performance of choral music in all its variety. This is accomplished through BYCA's unique cross-choral training, which teaches the kids to sing confidently in many different styles-everything from Schubert to John Adams, gospel to indie-rock.

With easier access, BYCA hopes more families will want to introduce their children to the power and joy of singing, and the camaraderie and discipline that comes with joining a chorus. No children are turned away from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus due to inability to pay; BYCA offers full or partial financial aid to cover a third of its choristers.

As BYCA grows, so does its commitment to helping the young people of Brooklyn realize their potential as musicians and individuals. In this 20th anniversary season, the Music Annex Initiative will empower it to bring its premier music training to more Brooklyn children and neighborhoods than ever before.

Additional info: www.brooklynyouthchorus.org