The Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy Appoints Valerie G. Lewis As New Executive Director

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA) board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Executive Director, Valerie G. Lewis. Ms. Lewis brings extensive and multi-faceted experience in leadership and marketing to BYCA, which provides performance-based music education to a diverse student body of 285 students and which supports the celebrated Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC), one of the foremost children's choruses in America. Ms. Lewis officially assumes her post on October 5, 2009.

"I am pleased and honored to be named Executive Director of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy," says Valerie G. Lewis. "I look forward to working with Artistic Director Dianne Berkun and new Chair Mary Ann Yancey on advancing the organization's immediate and long-term goals."

Prior to her appointment at BYCA, Ms. Lewis served for eleven years at the Alliance for Downtown New York, North America's largest Business Improvement District and a major cultural presenter in New York. Most recently, she held the position of Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, where she led a team to develop marketing and branding campaigns, direct development strategies, and manage public relations and new media promotion strategies. She also curated and directed the Downtown Alliance's many cultural events, including concert and lecture series, children's programs, and public art installations. Most notably, she was a founder and manager of the River to River Festival, a multi-million dollar annual arts event that has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to Lower Manhattan each year since 2002.

In a letter from the BYCA board of directors, new board Chair Mary Anne Yancey states, "BYCA is thrilled to welcome Ms. Lewis as Executive Director. Her strong management skills, extensive marketing experience, and broad contacts within the New York City cultural community are tremendous assets that will facilitate BYCA's organizational growth. Her background in managing the River to River Festival-involving diverse art forms across multiple venues and sites-points to her ability to support the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy's most ambitious visions for the presentation of its work. We believe that her experience will make her a strong partner for our founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun in moving BYCA to a new level of artistic and educational achievement."

Under Dianne Berkun's leadership, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus has become the ensemble of choice for collaborative performances with internationally renowned orchestras and artists. She has prepared the Chorus to study and perform a wide range of music-classical and non-classical-and has established a commissioning program to develop new works for youth chorus across a variety of genres.

Valerie Lewis comes to BYCA at a time of transition in leadership, as Ms. Yancey, a member of the board of directors and a longtime activist in Brooklyn-based organizations, replaces J. Barclay Collins as Chair of the board. At the same time, BYC looks forward to a remarkable season, including performances of Howard Shore's Oscar-winning film score to The Lord of the Rings at Radio City Music Hall; John Adams' nativity oratorio El Niño at Carnegie Hall; Phil Kline and Wally Cardona's music-dance collaboration Really Real at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music's Next Wave Festival; and the U.S. Premiere concert version of Louis Andriessen's new opera La Commedia at Carnegie Hall. Also planned is a major new work commissioned from rising composer Nico Muhly, supported by a grant from Meet The Composer's Commissioning Music/USA program. The Brooklyn Youth Chorus continues to garner raves for its role on indie band sensation Grizzly Bear's new hit album, Veckatimest. BYCA keeps growing, enrolling 285 choristers this year-a record for the Academy-with plans to expand to 300 students by the end of the season.

MORE ABOUT VALERIE G. LEWIS

Valerie G. Lewis has just been named Executive Director of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy. Prior to accepting this position, Valerie spent 11 years at the Alliance for Downtown New York, the largest Business Improvement District in North America. During her tenure, she served in four positions, most recently holding the title of Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications. As SVP, Valerie directed and implemented a wide variety of marketing, branding, public relations campaigns for the BID that focused on promoting Lower Manhattan's strengths as a commerical business district, a residential community and a year-round cultural destination. She also curated and directed all of the BID's cultural programming including, concerts series, lecture series, historic walking tours and culinary events. Valerie was one of the founders of the award-winning River to River Festival, which was launched in the aftermath of 9/11 to utilize the arts as a revitalization tool for Lower Manhattan. The Festival-which just wrapped up its eighth consecutive season-continues to present world-class performers and draw record-breaking crowds each season. Prior to working with the Downtown Alliance, Valerie worked for George Arzt Communications, a public and governmental relations firm, where she represented a diverse array of clients from the public, private and non-profit sectors. Before that, she worked for New York City Councilman (now Congressman) Anthony Weiner as constituent relations manager and press secretary, and prior to that position, she served as a congressional intern for New York Congressman (now Senator) Charles Schumer. Valerie received her B.A. in political science from the University of Delaware and her Master in Pubic Administration from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College. She lives with her husband, her daughter and son in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

MORE ABOUT Mary AnnE YANCEY

A native of Washington State, Mary Anne Yancey moved to New York City after graduating from Whitman College, where she has lived in Brooklyn for most of her adult life, devoting her work to organizations that either serve or benefit the Borough. She joined the Junior League of Brooklyn in the early 1960s and became its President in 1968. She was also President of St. Ann's Parent Teachers Association in its fourth year of existence, and a member of the Board of Directors of Brooklyn Kindergarten Society. She was the first woman to Chair the City Hospital Visiting Committee for the United Hospital Fund of New York, and the first woman President of the Plymouth Church Council. She has recently retired after five years as Chairperson of BRIC Arts/Media/Brooklyn. Mary Anne is presently Chairperson of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center Council and a member of the Board of Directors for BRIC and for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy. She holds three Masters degrees from Columbia University's School for Public Health and Urban Planning and the Teachers' College. During the 1980s she worked for Interfaith Medical Center and the New York City Partnership. Mary Anne is married to Richard C. Yancey, with whom she has three children and five grandsons.

THE BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS AND ACADEMY

The Grammy® Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC), now in its 18th season, is one of the country's leading children's choruses, acclaimed for its collaborations with leading orchestras and artists of all genres. Led by founder and artistic director Dianne Berkun, the Chorus has performed with the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel, the Boston Symphony Orchestra under James Levine, the American Symphony Orchestra, Elton John, Lou Reed, Grizzly Bear, Barbara Cook, John Legend and Alicia Keys, among many others. Chorus members receive their training from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA), a performance-based vocal music education program serving 285 students annually in five progressively advanced ensembles. BYCA students reflect the city's economic, racial and ethnic diversity and BYCA's scholarship program ensures access for all who wish to study.

 

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