Brooklyn Youth Chorus

BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS is a Grammy Award-winning collective of young voices led by visionary Founder & Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker. “A polished ensemble of miniature professionals” (The New York Times), the versatile Chorus fluently delivers world-class performances on stage and in the studio.

The Chorus has collaborated with an impressive range of organizations and artists, this season alone with the New York Philharmonic, The National, Wye Oak, Shara Nova, International Contemporary Ensemble, and William Brittelle, and in previous seasons with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Barbra Streisand, Arcade Fire, Sir Elton John, and Grizzly Bear. Recordings of the Chorus have been featured in major motion pictures, commercials, and live events, including several tracks in The National‘s new concept album I Am Easy To Find, a new work by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke for rag & bone’s Spring 2016 collection, Chanel Paris’s 2019 Capsule campaign featuring Pharrell Williams, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s OTR II World Tour. As a bold commissioner and producer of new music, the Chorus has introduced into the repertoire more than 120 original works and world premieres by contemporary composers, including collaborations with Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, Blues and R&B powerhouse Toshi Reagon, iconic British DJ Bishi, The National’s Bryce Dessner, and ubiquitous indie-classical superstar Nico Muhly.

The Chorus has released two albums through New Amsterdam Records—Silent Voices (2018) and Black Mountain Songs (2017)—and has appeared at important contemporary music festivals including the Ecstatic Music Festival, MusicNOW, 21c Liederabend, Barbican Mountain and Waves Festival, and the PROTOTYPE Festival.

The Chorus’s trademarked Cross-Choral Training® method prepares singers with the skills and technique necessary to perform music from a variety of styles—classical to contemporary—traditional to commercial. As a bold commissioner and producer of new music, the Chorus has introduced over 100 original works and world premieres by contemporary composers into the repertoire, including several evening-length productions such as its Silent Voices series, Black Mountain Songs, and Tell the Way.

Founded in 1992, Brooklyn Youth Chorus has served over 10,000 students over the course of its history, currently involving more than 700 students in its core after-school and public-school outreach programs. In addition, students can enroll in a full complement of enrichment and intensive classes and individual lessons.

All students perform in the Chorus’s annual concert series, and our advanced ensembles appear regularly at prestigious venues—from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Advanced singers also enjoy opportunities for touring and recording.