Wednesday, December 9, 2009

"A Season of Peace"

As the temperatures drop and the snow falls, YPC is gearing up for this years holiday concert, "A Season of Peace". The concert is to take place at Saint Patrick's Church located at 130 East 4th Street in Erie on Tuesday, December 22nd and will start at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for this exciting concert are now available, but selling fast so don't hesitate to purchase your tickets. Ticket order forms are available on our website at http://www.ypcerie.org/. Your ticket order form and payment can be mailed to us at:

The Young People's Chorus of Erie
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
16 Erie Hall
4651 College Drive
Erie, PA 16563

or you can fax your order form to 814-898-6785. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling 814-898-6789. Please make checks payable to The Young People's Chorus of Erie. Tickets ordered before December 15th will be mailed. Ticket orders received after December 15th will be held at the door. Tickets are $20 for section A seating, $15 for section B seating, $10 for section C seating, and $5 for children (7-12).

Remember tickets are selling fast, so don't hesitate, buy your tickets today and join us for a peaceful evening of beautiful music.

Tiffany M. Gilger (Kun)
YPC Production Manager & Marketing Assistant

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

YPC Is More Than Just Singing

Ultimately what makes YPC such an amazing organization is the kids that make up our membership. These hardworking kids put their all into their singing and forge strong friendships together. Our members not only receive musical training, but they also learn how to work together with others despite their many differences.



One of our high school choristers, Meredith Supinski, recently wrote the following about YPC:

"I love YPC because it is such an eclectic group of kids. We are all different in our own ways, and we are brought together and made to work together. In a way it gives us an advantage because we are learning to be open to different things, and in this changing world it will benefit us greatly."

Tiffany M. Gilger (Kun), Production Manager & Marketing Assistant
The Young People's Chorus of Erie

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Honor Chorus Festival 2009

Wow! Talk about an exciting event! This past Saturday's YPC Honor Chorus Festival was a HUGE success. Over 200 choristers from all around the Erie area (even as far away as Wellsboro, PA) joined together on the campus of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College for an exciting day of singing and friendship. Choristers from a wide variety of backgrounds joined together as one voice in celebration of the music. This fun filled day of music culminated in a sold out concert that evening where the participants sang for nearly 500 audience members. All in all the day was a huge success with YPC reaching out to over 800 people including the members, staff, and volunteers present to help make the day happen.

Despite the hectic weekend, YPC is far from slowing down. Rather we are gaining momentum with each and every day. Still to come this month we have a chorister hosted recruitment party on Saturday, November 14th for choristers ages 13-18. The members of the YPC Elementary and Intermediate Choruses are preparing to sing at Springhill Senior Living Center tomorrow, Wednesday, November 11th. Then after a short Thanksgiving break YPC will charge full speed into the busy month of December. In December, the Elementary and Intermediate members of YPC will be performing for the Eriez Magnetics Christmas Party at the Ambassador on December 5th, while their older counterparts, the YPC Chorale, will be performing with the Erie Philharmonic on December 12th. Our December events will culminate in a holiday concert entitled "A Season of Peace" on December 22nd at St. Patrick's Church.

Also remember that YPC will be holding their first round of auditions for the spring term November 30-December 3rd. For more information on our auditions, or any of our other upcoming events, please visit our website http://www.ypcerie.org/, call our office at (814) 898-6789, or email us at info@ypcerie.org.

Tiffany M. Gilger (Kun)
YPC Production Manager and Marketing Assistant

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Next Round of Auditions!

The Young People's Chorus of Erie will hold its next round of auditions May 4-7, 4:30-6:30pm at the following locations:

Monday, May 4 at Penn State Behrend’s Smith Chapel
Tuesday, May 5 at First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 250 W. 7th Street
Wednesday, May 6 at Penn State Behrend’s Smith Chapel
Thursday, May 7 at the Cathedral of St. Paul Episcopal, 134 W. 7th Street

The audition process is simple. Each prospective chorister will be asked to sing a song of his/her choice (without accompaniment) and some basic musical patterns as played on a keyboard. The primary requirements for joining YPC are the ability to match pitch, a genuine love for singing, and a commitment to hard work!

For more information, or to sign up for an audition time, contact the YPC Erie office (814) 898-6789, e-mail info@ypcerie.org, or visit our website at www.ypcerie.org.

YPC Erie Debuts!






All three of the YPC Erie ensembles debuted this past weekend at the Warner Theater in Erie.

The YPC Erie High School Chorus sang the youth chorus part in the Erie Philharmonic's performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, with the Erie Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra. The very first public appearance of any YPC Erie ensemble featured our high school students on stage with the orchestra in front of a sold-out crowd in Erie's historic Warner Theater. I was so very proud of our choristers not only for the high quality of their musical performance, but also for the impressive and professional way they carried themselves. The audience's excitement was palpable as they witnessed YPC Erie in action for the very first time!

The YPC Erie Elementary and Middle School Choruses made their debut at the Warner Theater the very next day, as the featured performers in "Students Play the Warner," an opening-act performance series sponsored by the Erie Civic Music Association. Under the direction of conductors Sharon Downey and Michael Dean, the Elementary and Middle School choruses sang an impressive set of 3 well-prepared and memorized pieces each for a huge audience. Actually, since we were the opening act, I had expected there to be very few people in the audience - but we had a huge crowd there just to see YPC Erie more than an hour before the Erie Civic Music concert began! Our younger YPC groups took charge and did an amazing job. YPC Erie is grateful to Erie Civic Music Association for featuring us in this way, and for their gift of financial support in exchange for our performance.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend for YPC Erie! Coming next: YPC Erie travels to NYC for the YPC NYC Honor Chorus Festival!

For more information on auditions & enrollment in YPC Erie, contact our office (814) 898-6789, e-mail ypcerie@psu.edu, or visit our website at www.ypcerie.org.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

YPC Erie Travels to NYC!

Choristers in the YPC Erie Middle School & High School choruses will travel to New York City on Friday, March 27 to participate in YPC New York's 8th Annual New York City Honor Chorus Festival on Saturday, March 28.

YPC Erie is the very first affiliate of the Young People's Chorus of New York City. Only three short months into our first season, our choristers will have the amazing opportunity to travel together to NYC and meet members of the organization that inspired the work we're doing here in Erie. Over 50 YPC Erie choristers will spend all day on Saturday March 28 in rehearsals with YPC New York's choristers, getting to know them, sharing stories, and hearing all about their experiences in YPC. Our choristers will not only enjoy a rich and fulfilling musical experience, but will also return with such a valuable perspective on what it means to be a part of YPC. In addition, they are sure to make many new and long-lasting friendships with their travel companions from Erie, and with the choristers from New York City whom they are likely to see again. I'm thrilled to be offering this opportunity for our very first YPC Erie choristers!

For more information on the Young People's Chorus of New York City Honor Chorus, visit ypc.org/honorchorus.

For more information on the Young People's Chorus of Erie, call (814) 898-6789, e-mail ypcerie@psu.edu, or visit ypcerie.org.

YPC Erie Choruses Prepare for Local Debut

All three of our choruses will make their local debut during the first weekend of March:

  • The YPC Erie High School chorus will sing the youth chorus part in the Erie Philharmonic's performance of Carmina Burana on Saturday, March 7 at 8pm in Erie's Warner Theater. Visit eriephil.org or call (814) 455-1375 for more information.
  • The YPC Erie Elementary & Middle School choruses will open for the Erie Civic Music Association concert on Sunday, March 8 at 2:15pm in Erie's Warner Theater. Visit eriecivicmusic.com or call (814) 864-5681 for more information.
For more information on the Young People's Chorus of Erie, call (814) 898-6789, e-mail ypcerie@psu.edu, or visit ypcerie.org.

YPC Erie Rehearsals Begin!

After months of preparation, marketing, fundraising, and hundreds of auditions, the Young People's Chorus of Erie officially began rehearsals on January 12, 2009 with over 100 young choristers enrolled in three ensembles: high school, middle school, and elementary. Our choirs are incredibly diverse, representing a true cross-section of young people from a wide variety of backgrounds throughout the city and county of Erie, and the broader region of northwestern Pennsylvania. We have some students who walk around the corner to their rehearsal site, while others travel from as far away as Fairview, Edinboro, and Saegertown.

Our first major recruitment event in November 2008, the Northwest Songfest, generated a lot of buzz and excitement as we prepared for rehearsal launch just two months later. While teachers participated in workshops and group discussions, over 120 students participated in a day of rehearsals and other activities with guest conductors culminating in an evening concert with over 500 people in attendance. Here are some of the pictures from that event:






Our elementary chorus, for ages 7-10, rehearses on Thursdays 4:30-6:30pm at the Cathedral of St. Paul with conductor Sharon Downey. These beginning young singers are getting to know each other, and they have already accomplished amazing things in a very short amount of time. As I visit these rehearsals, I have particularly enjoyed observing the ethnic diversity represented by the children in the room. At one point Sharon asked her choristers how many of them could speak a language other than English, and the responses were astounding: Spanish, Portuguese, Albanian, & Polish, just to name a few. The rehearsal room looks like a model United Nations!

Our middle school chorus, for ages 10-14, rehearses on Tuesdays 4:30-6:30pm at St. John's Lutheran Church with conductor Michael Dean. One of the most impressive things about this chorus is the wide range of experiences represented - the potential for friendships and mentorships among these widely different choristers is truly exciting. At the conclusion of rehearsals, there always seem to be large clusters of students grouped together who really enjoy each other's friendship and don't want to leave - and it's especially exciting to see unlikely friendships developing as well, among different ages, races, and backgrounds. The middle school choristers are really enjoying Michael's repertoire selections, even deciding to name their chorus after a Portuguese phrase in one of their pieces. (We'll reveal chorus names soon - stay tuned!)

Our high school chorus, for ages 14-18, rehearses both Mondays & Wednesdays 4:30-6:30pm in the Smith Chapel at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. These more advanced young singers, who rehearse twice per week, are absolutely craving challenge and respond enthusiastically to everything I give them! We're working on a wide variety of music, from American gospel spirituals to Dravidian music to traditional songs of Zambia. As the high school choristers get to know each other in the process, we are really enjoying the diversity of our group and the energy it brings to our rehearsals. At our last rehearsal, I asked the singers a question: "What does YPC mean to you?" The answers were impressive: "opportunity," "possibility," "a fresh start," "something brand new," "diversity," "possibility" and the list goes on. It was clear that our high school choristers understand that they are a part of history in the making; they see what a pivotal moment this is for them and for our region. They embrace their similarities as well as their differences, and they recognize the potential of this new opportunity and the message it sends to our community. I'm so proud of them for choosing to be the very first members of YPC Erie!

For more information about the Young People's Chorus of Erie, call (814) 898-6789, e-mail ypcerie@psu.edu, or visit ypcerie.org.