The nationally-renowned PS22 Chorus will be coming to East Brunswick on Thursday evening, May 28 for a special concert hosted by the Daniel Pearl Education Center (DPEC). The concert will be held at Temple B’nai Shalom, beginning at 7 pm.
The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 on Staten Island that has gained national and international notoriety for its performances with Katy Perry, Garth Brooks, Jason Mraz and others and whose widely publicized performance of “Over the Rainbow” closed the 83rd Academy Awards. The chorus’s videos have been watched more than 65,000,000 times.
Directed by Gregg Breinberg, the PS22 Chorus is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, who participate in an annual audition at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island and students come 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.
“We have been trying for some time to bring the PS22 Chorus to a Daniel Pearl Education Center program,” said Dr. Andy Boyarsky, the DPEC chairman. “And while there has always been a high level of interest, the logistics were challenging. Now we have a date that works, and we’re incredibly excited to bring these amazingly talented children to East Brunswick.”
“You cannot help but be inspired by the children’s voices,” he added. “For us at the DPEC, it is a reminder that harmony creates the most beautiful music – community, togetherness, understanding. This will be a memorable evening for all.”
The PS22 Chorus performs a wide variety of music, and the program for May 28 is still in development.
“We are hoping that the children can prepare a few songs that underline the importance of community and understanding,” Dr. Boyarsky said.
The cost of the concert is $10 for adults and free for all children accompanied by an adult.
All proceeds from the concert will go to the Daniel Pearl Education Center, a non-profit, charitable organization committed to the ideals of understanding and community – those principles that are part of the legacy of the late Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl was kidnapped and later murdered by extremists in Pakistan in early 2002.
The DPEC sponsors a wide range of community outreach programs, including an annual trip to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, a speaker series, “teaching tolerance” workshops for area teachers, and more. The DPEC annually participates in the global Daniel Pearl Music Days, an international network of concerts that use the power of music to reaffirm a commitment to tolerance and humanity. Since 2002, Daniel Pearl World Music Days has grown to include the participation of more than 11,000 performances in 129 countries.
More information is available by emailing rbrenowitz1@aol.com.