PS22 chorus

PS22 Chorus
Origin	Graniteville, Staten Island, New York
Genres	pop, traditionals, gospel, R&B
Years active	2000 – present
Website	ps22chorus.blogspot.com
Members
Director Gregg Breinberg, "Mr. B" (guitar, piano) Chorus 60-70 fifth-graders from Public School 22 Guest Musicians Chris Eberle (guitar, drums)

The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island which draws students from a wide cross section of ethnic groups and socio-economic levels. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. It has been featured on several major national news and music networks after its videos had gained international attention within the popular video-sharing site YouTube. As of February, 2012 the chorus’s videos have been watched more than 41,000,000 times.

History

The PS22 chorus was founded in 2000 by the school's music teacher, Gregg Breinberg, who started blogging about it in September 2006 following requests on a Tori Amos fan page, where he had shared some of his videos. Since then the chorus has become an Internet phenomenon. In 2009 New York magazine called it "the best-known elementary-school chorus on the planet".

Chorus of 2006/2007

• The chorus performs for singer-songwriter Tori Amos at the Sony Atrium in New York City. (May 4, 2007)
• Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton starts blogging about the PS22 chorus and becomes an influential supporter.

Chorus of 2007/2008

• Neil Finn, lead singer of the New Zealand band Crowded House invites the chorus to sing at the band’s sold-out concert in New York. (April 30, 2008)
• Former student Andrew Canlon composes a song specifically for the PS22 chorus entitled "All My Life".
• Members of the PS22 chorus of 2007/2008 are featured in several videos of the 2009 television series The Electric Company

Chorus of 2008/2009

• The electronic band Passion Pit invites the PS22 chorus to sing background vocals on three tracks ("The Reeling", "Little Secrets", "Let Your Love Grow Tall") of their debut album Manners. (2009-01-16) "The Reeling" is later nominated for an MTV Video Music Award as best breakthrough video.
• The chorus performs with country singer Cooper Boone at a DKMS charity Gala and meets Chelsea Clinton and R&B singer Rihanna. (May 7, 2009)
• Nightline features an in-depth look at the PS22 Chorus. (June 10, 2009)
• Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) invites the chorus to sing for her at Madison Square Garden. (June 11, 2009)
• The chorus performs on Good Morning America (ABC) (June 22, 2009)
• The chorus appears on It's On with Alexa Chung (MTV). (August 3, 2009)
• The chorus is featured on the nationally televised VH1 Divas Special 2009 (September 17, 2009)

Chorus of 2009/2010

• The newly formed chorus of 2009/2010 is visited by the cast (Naturi Naughton, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kherington Payne, Asher Book) and director Kevin Tancharoen of the new 2009 movie Fame. The school is presented a $30,000 check for a new keyboard lab by VH1 Save The Music Foundation Executive Director Paul Cothran, and Director Of Music for New York City Department of Education Barbara Murray. (September 14, 2009)
• Billboard magazine invites the chorus to perform at an award ceremony for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. (October 2, 2009)
• The chorus performs alongside the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland at the Cross Cultural Youth Festival held at The Armory, Washington Heights for 2500 children from all five boroughs of New York. The event is covered by Fox5 New York. (October 27, 2009) [1]
• Paul Rieckhoff, founder of IAVA, invites the chorus to sing at the Third Annual Heroes Gala at Gotham Hall in New York, hosted by NBC's Brian Williams. (November 10, 2009)
• The chorus performs with rapper Common at the National Tree Lighting ceremony at the White House with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attending. (December 3, 2009)
• During their "Songs From the Heart" tour, Celtic Woman visits PS22 and invites the chorus to join them on two songs at their Radio City Music Hall concert. (February 26, 2010)
• After hearing the chorus's interpretation of his song "One Day", Chasidic reggae artist Matisyahu visits PS22 and invites the chorus to perform two songs at his concert at New York City's 92nd Street Y. (March 16, 2010)

Chorus of 2010/2011

• The students perform at the charity organization "New Yorkers for Children". (September 22, 2010)
• At the ONEXONE Gala supported by Matt Damon, the children sing with Matisyahu. (October 27, 2010)
• The chorus perform at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in Manhattan hosted by NBC Anchor Brian Williams. (November 10, 2010)
• The children are visited by Kylie Minogue and perform with her, including the first ever live performance of "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)". (November 29, 2010)
• The chorus is visited by Bruce Cohen and Anne Hathaway at their 11th Annual Winter Concert and invited to perform at the 83rd Academy Awards. (December 16, 2010)
• The students perform at the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27, 2011.
• The children perform with Katy Perry on the Oprah Winfrey show post Oscar show at the Kodak Theatre. (February 28, 2011)
• The chorus perform together with The Bangles at the Tribeca Film Festival (April 20, 2011)
• David Cook visits PS22 and performs several songs including "The Last Goodbye" and "Rolling in the Deep" with the chorus. (June 10, 2011)
• The group reunites to perform a 40 minute set at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. (July 30, 2011)
• PS22 Chorus appears on Sesame Street in a video singing the iconic Sesame song "Somebody Come and Play." (October 21, 2011)

Chorus of 2011/2012

• The children are visited by artist V V Brown who performs several songs with the chorus. (November 16, 2011)
• The chorus performed with 30 Seconds to Mars for the songs "Closer to the Edge" and "Kings and Queens" in what was most likely their final concert at Saint Peter's Church in Chelsea, New York. (December 10, 2011)
• The children are visited by artist Susan Justice and film several songs with her. (January 27, 2012)
• PS22 Chorus alumnus Denise Bestman appears in a commercial for Target singing the song "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele which airs during the 2012 Grammys. (February 12, 2012)
• The students perform a tribute to Whitney Houston singing "The Greatest Love of All" on the Piers Morgan Tonight show on CNN. (February 17, 2012)

Media coverage

TV appearances

• ABC News Nightline (ABC)
• Good Day New York (Fox 5)
• MTV News with Sway Calloway (MTV)
• NBC Nightly News;; (msnbc)
• Hollywood 411 (TV Guide Network)
• The Bonnie Hunt Show
• Anderson Cooper 360° (CNN)
• RTL Television (German television station)
• 83rd Academy Awards
• The Oprah Winfrey Show (CBS)

Radio appearances

• All Things Considered (NPR)
• Chris Evans (BBC)
• Q (CBC)
• The Howard Stern Show
• Joan Hamburg (WOR-2)
• Rubrik 'Musik' (detektor.fm)
• Akustischer Adventskalender (detektor.fm)

Newspaper/Online Newspaper articles

• The New York Times
• New York Magazine
• In June 2009 an Associated Press article by Verena Dobnik brought worldwide attention to the chorus. The article ran in prominent newspapers and on websites like The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The Seattle Times, The Huffington Post and many more.
• Dein Spiegel (German magazine for children)
• Time (magazine)
• Daily News (New York)
• Los Angeles Times

Awards

• COAHSi (Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island) Award 2003 and 2009
• Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award 2010
• Webby Artist of the Year Award 2010
• Common Sense Media Award 2011

External links

• Blogspot Homepage
• Official YouTube channel