As you can imagine, given the varied nature of the blog’s topics, my social media feeds tend to be all over the place. But when Instagram reminded me of these lovely musical youths, I knew I’d found something wonderful (or, to be more precise, something wonderful found me!). This is the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, an “internationally-acclaimed, multicultural New York City youth chorus.” Headquartered in Lincoln Center, the YPC (as it’s known around town) has been a staple of the NYC choral music scene since its inception in 1988. I’ve known about their existence for many years, but for some reason, it didn’t occur to me to post about them until now. Thanks, Instagram!

The YPC has competed in – and medaled at – choral competitions across the world. The Chorus has performed for popes and kings and presidents. They have commissioned new music from prominent contemporary composers, and have premiered more than 100 new pieces of music over the years. But of all of their accomplishments, one stands out for me. One of the things I admire most about the Chorus is that they’ve always been broadly inclusive, involving children from every ethnicity and socio-economic background. I think the comradery of a chorus is the perfect place to develop bonds with and a better understanding of people whose life experience is different from yours. It could only help these upcoming generations with their adult human relations. Music making the world a better place. Hooray!

You can learn more about the Young People’s Chorus of NY on their website and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also watch their feature-length films on the YPCFilms website.