Members of Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) traveled to the Fox News studios in New York for an appearance on Fox and Friends on Monday, December 14.

Under the direction of Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY) Founder and Artistic Director Steve Fisher, they chatted with the show’s hosts, and the ensemble with KSB member Bobby Hill sang “O Holy Night,” which Bobby just released as a single. The singers also did an “After the Show Show” segment where they talked about the choirs and the impact CY has on the community and sang “Deck the Halls.” Watch the two segments (courtesy Fox News):

Bobby Hill singing with Keystone State Boychoir

Bobby Hill,  who stunned the world with his soprano voice at the Festival of Families in the presence of Pope Francis, will perform at two sites visited by the pontiff during his visit last month. Bobby will be joined by fellow members of the Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and its sister choir, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG).

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 7:00pm, Bobby and his fellow choristers will sing for inmates at the Riverside Correctional Facility, 8151 State Road, Philadelphia 19136. “When I saw the pope on TV visiting that prison, I thought it would be cool for my choir to sing for inmates since they need cheering up,” explains 14-year-old Hill.  “But I didn’t think it could ever happen. But then I never thought I would sing for the pope.  He was so nice and even gave me rosaries. So this is a way to thank him, by giving back.”

On Sunday, October 11, 2015 at 2:30pm at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter & Paul, Bobby and the choirs will sing at the Children’s Sabbath, an annual ecumenical service focused on the needs of children in our city.  At 2:00pm, Bobby will have the opportunity to meet another celebrity, Sister Mary Scullion of Project HOME, at her now-famed grotto outside the Cathedral. Scullion will be the main speaker at the Children’s Sabbath, which is open to the public.  “I’m so pleased these talented young people have agreed to join me at this event,” says Sister. I was there to hear Bobby sing live that night, and along with the Holy Father and millions of others, was so moved by his singing.   His desire to fill the lives of the less fortunate with the joy of music is even more inspiring.

Bobby Hill singing with Keystone State Boychoir

Two weeks before the pope’s arrival, the Boychoir and Girlchoir were asked to perform at the Parkway concert given in his honor.  What no one knew, including the young singer himself until just five minutes before he walked on stage, was that Bobby would get a once in a lifetime chance to sing a solo for perhaps the most well known, beloved person alive. “There was an unexpected transition and the producers didn’t want the pope to be sitting there looking at a set change,” says Bobby’s choir director Steve Fisher.  “I’m so glad they asked. Bobby’s voice deserves to be heard.” With his talent, as well as his poise in meeting the Holy Father, Bobby has captivated millions of hearts around the globe.

After Bobby sang at the Festival of Families concert on September 26th, emcee Mark Wahlberg hugged Bobby, and then declared, “that is the voice of an angel.” The Hollywood star then went onto to share what  Bobby had whispered in his ear – “I loved you in Ted.”  This prompted a public mea culpa from Wahlberg directly to the Holy Father for making a movie “not appropriate for a boy that age.”

It has been a whirlwind for Bobby and his family since he was thrust – literally – onto the international stage. Accolades and offers have to sing have come in from every continent, including Antarctica, where the Keystone State Boychoir made history in 2009 as the first choir to perform there.  Andrew Lloyd Webber himself has called Bobby’s a cappella rendition of the famed composer’s Pie Jesu “absolutely stunning.”  Webber, one of the most successful musical theatre writers of our time (Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock) has offered to accompany Bobby on the piece at a soon-to-be-announced NYC event.

“I’m so proud of Bobby,” says Fisher.  “He’s been offered countless engagements over the last two weeks, and yet the event that has him the most excited is the prison concert. But that’s Bobby. He’s exactly the same today as he was before he walked out on that stage and inspired everyone. He’s a ham for sure.  You’d have to be to do what he did. But he’s got a heart of gold. We’re all proud to know him.”

For media inquiries, please contact Leanne Clancy at lclancy@greenestreetfriends.org.

click the images above to view and download a publication quality version

The entire Commonwealth Youthchoirs family welcomes Dr. Elizabeth Cassidy Parker as the new conductor of the Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) Troubadors. Dr. Parker will also work with the Scholas, along with another soon to be named Conductor. Dr. Parker is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Boyer College of Music at Temple University. But she is no stranger to PG! Her daughter Sara is a Trouvere.

“After closely observing the wonderful work of the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, I am thrilled to join this vibrant organization,” says Dr. Parker. “I look forward to making music with the girls and getting to know their families.”

“We are so very fortunate to have Dr. Parker join us,” says PG Music Director Vincent Metallo. “She has many gifts that will allow the Girlchoir – and in particular our younger singers – to carry on the PG tradition of choral excellence, as well as help us reach even greater musical heights.”

An active clinician for children’s and youth choirs, Dr. Parker held the position of Director of Music for a large New York City not-for-profit where she grew a children’s choir program of more than 250 voices. While on music faculty at Columbus State University in Georgia, Dr. Parker served  the Artistic Director of the Voices of the Valley Youth Choir. She has also taught K -12 school and community choirs in New York, Nebraska, and Georgia, focusing on the vocal development of young people. A choral singer herself, Dr. Parker performed for several seasons with the Marble Collegiate Sanctuary Choir in New York City, and sang in Carnegie Hall with James Conlon and the great Robert Shaw.

Read Dr. Parker’s bio on the PG website.

For Immediate Release
Media Contact:  Leanne Clancy at Lclancy@greenestreetfriends.org or 484-410-9664

PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI YOUTH CHORUS TO APPEAR AT KIMMEL JUNE 28

(Philadelphia, June 15, 2015) “Transcending conflict through song.” That’s the motto of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC), an ensemble of Palestinian and Israeli high school students from East and West Jerusalem who not only sing together, but regularly discuss the challenging issues facing their divided region in the hope of being forces for peace. On June 28-29, JYC will be hosted by Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) and Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) when it comes to Philadelphia on the final leg of its US Tour.

The visit will include a “dialogue workshop” whereby members of PG and KSB will learn from the members of JYC how to discuss difficult topics in a open, honest, and respectful manner. Rather than focusing on the issues of the Middle East, the workshop will focus on race issues in America. The hope is that the young people of PG and KSB can use the communication skills they develop to be agents of change and peace in their own communities.

The visit includes a joint performance with all three choirs at 7:00pm in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, June 28. The concert will also feature special guests the Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble. Tickets are on sale through the Kimmel Center Box Office at kimmelcenter.org. Premium seats can be obtained through “Peace in the Middle East” Sponsorships at cychoirs.org.

The Pennsylvania Girlchoir and Keystone State Boychoir organization serves over 650 young people between the ages of 4 and 18 throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding communities. Its singers are no strangers to the legacy of peace. KSB toured India with Gandhi’s grandson as well performed in Oslo at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Here at home, PG sang for Malala Yousafzai, Liberty Medal winner and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history. The choirs have travelled the globe, as far north as Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population, and as far south as Antarctica. They are the only choral organization in history to have sung on all seven continents.

(Media can visit our Media Resource page https://cychoirs.org/wordpress/jyc-media for background information, high resolution photos, and more. Please contact Leanne Clancy at Lclancy@greenestreetfriends.org or 484-410-9664 for more information and details on media availabilities during the JYC visit.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Mariangela Saavedra, msaavedra@cychoirs.org, 215.849.1762

WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW AMERICAN MUSICAL ON 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF CIVIL WAR’S END TO BENEFIT LOCAL YOUTH ARTS PROGRAMS

(Philadelphia – March 13, 2015) 150 years ago, on April 9, 1865, Generals Grant and Lee met at the Appomattox Court House to end the Civil War. On April 9, 2015, Mother B!, a “new old-fashioned American musical,” written in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, will premiere at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center (UDPAC) in concert version. The event will star Walnut Street Theatre favorite Denise Whelan, include a cast of 16 Philadelphia actors, and feature 200 singers from the Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Keystone State Boychoir.

Appomattox – April 9, 1865

Written by Philadelphia native Steven Fisher, Mother B! celebrates the remarkable story of Mary Ann Bickerdyke, aka “Mother B.” Remembered as “the Florence Nightingale of the Civil War,” Mother B’s indefatigable service earned her the profound respect of President Lincoln and General Grant, and the gratitude of the entire Union army. She witnessed over 19 battles and set up over 300 field hospitals with innovative approaches to hygiene and soldier care that helped bring medicine out of the dark ages. In doing so, she saved the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Mary Ann Bickerdyke (Mother B)

The musical revolves around Mother B’s friendship with “Little Albert,” a character inspired by the real-life Private Albert Cashier. Cashier was a tremendously brave, hard-fighting soldier who also had a secret: “he” was actually a “she.”  Born Jennie Hodgers, Private Cashier is the only documented female known to have fought the entire Civil War without being found out by authorities during the conflict. In the musical, Mother B discovers Little Albert and helps keep his secret safe. After the war, Albert’s secret is revealed. When the Illinois Soldier’s Home tries to deny him his rights as a veteran, Mother B takes up his cause.

Featuring a rousing, toe-tapping score in the style of the Golden Age musicals of the 1940s and a story that will make you smile, cry and cheer, Mother B! will transport the audience to an epic time that still fascinates, captivates and haunts us to this day. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Keystone State Boychoir, as well as the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center.

Terry and Amy Nolen are honorary co-chairs of the event. They, along with Fisher (and actor/writer Tina Fey) are alumni of the award-winning youth theatre program Summer Stage, which is in residence at UDPAC. The Nolens went on to found one of the country’s most successful regional theatres, the Arden Theatre. Fisher went on to co-found Commonwealth Youthchoirs*. The organization serves over 600 young singers in four different programs, including the Boychoir and Girlchoir.

Fisher’s other musical works include Mandela, which has been developed in New York and in Johannesburg, and will receive a workshop later in 2015 starring Tony-nominee Norm Lewis. His family musical Isabelle and the Pretty-Ugly Spell received a rave review from the New York Times during its New York run and has enjoyed productions around the country.

For Mother B! tickets visit CYChoirs.org/UDPACtickets or call 610-622-1189.

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publication quality images of the Mother B! logo, Denise Whelan, a Civil War era photo of Mother B (source: National Park Service), and a photo of the choirs in concert can be downloaded in a single zip file: https://cychoirs.org/wordpress/images/MotherBGraphics.zip

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*Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY) nurtures in young people a profound love of singing with four different programs: Pennsylvania Girlchoir, Keystone State Boychoir, Good Mornin’ Music! and Find Your Instrument! Drawing from more than 125 schools, over 600 children from Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties and beyond are involved in CY programs. For more information, visit www.cychoirs.org.

Mr. Fisher (right) and PG and KSB teens at the Kimmel Center for the overnight lockdown (photo Philadelphia Inquirer – click the story link for more)

The first kNOw Tech-a-Thon, where Pennsylvania Girlchoir and Keystone State Boychoir teens gave up their technology for 24 hours, was held the weekend of September 20-21, 2014, with a highlight being an overnight, technology-free lock in at the Kimmel Center. The Philadelphia Inquirer covered the event in its Sunday, September 21 edition.

The story, including a photo gallery and details of the kNOw Tech-a-Thon, is online on the Philly.com website here.

“Here she comes…” Miss America Nina Davuluri was host for the Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY) Gala on June 16, 2014 at Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S. Broad St., Philadelphia.  The grand event honor the 90th birthday of Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ned Rorem. In addition, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir celebrates their 10th anniversary. Prominent Philadelphia lawyer Ajay Raju and and his wife Pamela were Honorary Co-Chairs.

There was a very special surprise in store for Miss America when she was be treated to a “Bollywood” style performance to honor her heritage and recreate a portion of her personal talent performance from the pageant (singers from Keystone State Boychoir toured India in January with Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi). Additional select repetoire from the India tour also were part of the performance.

Highlights of the Gala also included the honor for Rorem, a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer, who was celebrating his 90th birthday. While the composer was ill and not able to be physically at Verizon Hall, he was represented by his sister, who received the recognition in Rorem’s absence. In addition, Pennsylvania Girlchoir celebrated their 10th anniversary.

The concert featured more than 500 singers from all four of CY’s musical programs. In addition to Keystone State Boychoir and Pennsylvania Girlchoir – two distinguished ensembles with worldwide reputations, Find Your Instrument!, a music program at several Philadelphia public schools that otherwise would have no vocal music training and Good Mornin’ Music!, an early music education experience for children PreK through Grade 2, were also represented on stage.

CY was founded in 2001 by Joseph Fitzmartin and Steven Fisher as a non-profit organization to bring music to kids, ages 8-18, from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. The singers represent all five Pennsylvania counties in the greater Philadelphia region, as well as New Jersey and Delaware. They are ambassadors for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at home and abroad.

KSB and PG perform Jai Ho – with the Jai Ho dancers – while Miss America watches (left)

The choirs combine to perform at the 2014 Gala

Pennsylvania Girlchoir joined by PG alumni celebrate the choir’s 10th Anniversary singing their signature “Total Praise”

From the March 27, 2014 Playbill.com:

Norm Lewis

Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis, who will star in the long-running musical The Phantom of the Opera, will play the title role in an industry reading of Mandela: A New Musical March 31.

Featuring a book, music and lyrics by Steven M. Fisher, the 3 PM reading will be directed by David Glenn Armstrong with music direction by Micah Young.

The cast also includes Tony Award nominee Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Rosena M. Hill Jackson (After Midnight, Spamalot),Darlesia Cearcy (The Book of Mormon, The Color Purple), John Henry Cox (Desire Under the Elms, Macbeth), Alan H. Green (Sister Act, Play On!), Aisha de Haas (Caroline or Change, Rent), Isaiah Johnson (Far From Heaven, Peter and the Starcatcher),Nehal Joshi (Les Misérables, Threepenny Opera), Jacob Ming-Trent(Hands on a Hardbody, Shrek), Paul O’Brien (On a Clear Day…, The Importance of Being Earnest), Ben Schrager (Roaring Company’scolumbinus), Michael Sharon (Folger’s Richard the Third, Long Wharf’s The Fantasticks) and Nick Wyman (Catch Me If You Can, A Tale of Two Cities).

The show will also include 60 members of the Keystone State Boychoir and Pennsylvania Girlchoir, who will bring the sounds of South Africa to the presentation.

Read the rest of the article on Playbill.com…

Girls Empowered Through Music (GETMusic), a new initiative of Pennsylvania Girlchoir, will bring together more than 350 girls from across Philadelphia for a weekend of intensive music making. The festival is made possible by the support of John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge funds innovative projects that engage and enrich Philadelphia’s communities.

Planned for fall 2014 for girls in grades seven through twelve, the GETMusic festival is Pennsylvania Girlchoir’s creative answer to activist Eve Ensler’s call to girls to “be their authentic selves,” giving young female singers the affirming experience of learning and performing repertoire written and conducted by women. The weekend will culminate in a public performance at a major Philadelphia cultural venue.

Vincent Metallo received a Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia 2013 award, with Donna Frisby-Greenwood (L), Philadelphia Program Director for Knight Foundation. photo credit Susan Beard

“When you sing with a choir, especially a choir of such excellence as Pennsylvania Girlchoir, you are able to do something that far surpasses what you could do alone,” notes Susan Ashbaker, former executive director of Commonwealth Youthchoirs, of which Pennsylvania Girlchoir is a member choir. “The empowerment the girls will feel when they raise their collective voices is something they can each take with them for the rest of their lives. It teaches unity, strength, confidence.  It perfectly melds with our mission to provide superior choral music education and performance opportunities for young people from diverse economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds and to pursue artistic excellence that inspires performers and audience alike.

“Musical experiences like the one being put together by the Pennsylvania Girlchoir are an important way to develop and empower the city’s future creative minds,” said Dennis Scholl, VP/Arts at Knight Foundation.

Details on the festival and a call for festival participants will be released as the festival weekend approaches. Learn more about Pennsylvania Girlchoir at pennsylvaniagirlchoir.org.

About Pennsylvania Girlchoir:

Pennsylvania Girlchoir, under the direction of Vincent Metallo, Music Director, maintains a repertoire steeped in the classical tradition and enhanced by music from many cultures and time periods. Established in 2004, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir has sung with the region’s most distinguished ensembles and received critical acclaim. Music critic Michael Caruso said of their recent performance of Fauré’s Requiem with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, “The beauty of the singing of the Motet Choir … was nothing short of breathtaking. The girls sang with flawless tuning, immaculate blend, effortless projection and exquisite phrasing.” Pennsylvania Girlchoir is a memberchoir of Commonwealth Youthchoirs.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation:

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.