The Jewish Museum And Bang On A Can Present Young People's Chorus Of New York City

Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum's 2019-2020 concert season, pairing innovative music with the Museum's exhibitions, begins on Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 7:30pm. The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), founded and directed by Francisco J. Núñez, perform a concert that will include songs and poems by Leonard Cohen and others, coinciding with the Jewish Museum's exhibition, Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything. Recognized throughout New York City and internationally as one of the leading and most diverse children's choirs, YPC is a longtime and frequent collaborator with Bang on a Can. The chorus has forged a unique presence in the city's music community both as a champion commissioner and performer of new works by today's leading composers and for its innovative vocal arrangements that consistently cross all musical borders.

Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, a contemporary art exhibition inspired by the themes of Leonard Cohen's life and work, is the first exhibition entirely devoted to the imagination and legacy of the influential singer/songwriter, man of letters, and global icon from Montréal, Canada. The exhibition includes commissioned works by a range of International Artists who have been inspired by Cohen's life and work, a video projection showcasing Cohen's own drawings, and an innovative multimedia gallery where visitors can hear covers of Cohen's songs by musicians such as Lou Doillon; Feist; Moby; and The National with Sufjan Stevens, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Richard Reed Parry, among others.

The 2019-2020 season marks the sixth year of the Jewish Museum and Bang on a Can's partnership, producing dynamic musical performances inspired by the Museum's diverse slate of exhibitions. Additional concerts this coming season include: Theo Bleckmann: "Hello Earth" - the music of Kate Bush (November 14, 2019 at 7:30pm); Nicole Mitchell (February TBC); and Carla Kihlstedt (May 21, 2019 at 7:30pm).

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned for its superb virtuosity and brilliant showmanship. Founded over 30 years ago in 1988 by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow, YPC has created an awareness among composers of the child's voice as a significant, but often untapped, instrument for making music. Through the years, YPC expanded and invigorated the repertoire for young voices with well over 100 premieres and commissions from today's most distinguished composers, including its composer-in-residence Michael Gordon. YPC's acclaimed artistry inspires invitations for collaborations and performances from a global array of festivals, cultural institutions, and cities on four continents. YPC was the first American chorus to win first prize in the 54-year history of the European Broadcasting Union's Let the Peoples Sing choral competition, the first youth chorus to open Lincoln Center's venerable Mostly Mozart Festival, and the only North American chorus to be named "Choir of the World" in the 34-year history of the International Choral Kathaumixw Competition in British Columbia. Recently, YPC was honored to be invited by Julia Wolfe to join the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere performances of her acclaimed Fire in My Mouth. Each year over 2,000 New York City children benefit musically, academically, and socially through their participation in YPC's after-school and in-school programs. Today, YPC is reaching hundreds more outside of the city through its YPC National program in New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, and the Dominican Republic. Among YPC's many awards is America's highest honor for youth programs, a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.