Season Highlights, 2017-18
The New Amsterdam Boys and Girls Choir thanks you for all your support this year! Here are some highlights from our 2017-2018 season.
CARNEGIE HALL
NABGC members were among 300 NYC youth performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) at Carnegie Hall on November 18. This event was hosted by NYC Canterbury Choral Society, under the direction of Jonathan De Vries. In addition, the program included a composition by American composer Rollo A. Dilworth, Bound for Glory, which is comprised of several American songs arranged for choir and orchestra. This performance was NABCG’s Carnegie Hall debut!
NABGC members backstage at Carnegie Hall
CANADA TOUR
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the NABGC took its second trip to Ontario, Canada, to perform with the Voices of Victory youth choir directed by Erwin Stroobach. On Saturday evening, the two choirs and a local middle school group gave a concert in which each group performed several songs, plus three songs as a mass choir. On Sunday morning, the NABGC and Voices of Victory sang in the service of host Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay. Members experienced two major attractions in Canada: the Maid of the Mist ride under Niagara Falls, and a day at Wonderland amusement park.
NABGC performing with Voices of Victory in Lindsay, Ontario
Having fun in Canada!
SPRING CONCERT
The NABGC gave its spring concert in conjunction with Project 142, a concert-presenting non-profit organization founded by the Rev. Richard Leonard. The concert was held at the DiMeena Center on West 37th Street in Manhattan. The All Souls Children’s Choir joined forces with NABGC. The combined choirs performed songs from NABGC standard repertoire: Wade in the Water, Rock-a my Soul, and Amaniutupe. Guest soloists included flutist Darwin Cosme Sanchez, who performed Poem for Flute and Piano by C. Griffes, pianist Max Parsons (NABGC accompanist), who performed Mazurka by E. Granados, and singer Scot Albertson (board member of Project 142), who closed out the program with I. Berlin’s God Bless America.
Flutist Darwin Cosme Sanchez and accompanist Max Parsons performing “Poem for Flute and Piano”
ANNUAL WALK-A-THON
This year’s annual walk through historic Harlem took a new format. Highlights of the walk included Duke Ellington Circle as well as the Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman monuments. At each stop, the group sang a song and shared historical information about the person memorialized. The walk concluded with a rooftop lunch hosted by board member Martha Linde and her husband, Rick. After lunch, choir members played several rounds of trivia. Thanks to everyone who sponsored choir members! The proceeds of the walk go to the NABGC Scholarship Fund.
Visiting Duke Ellington on the Walk-a-Thon
PARTNERSHIP WITH MUSICA VIVA
Musica Viva professional choir’s soprano soloist Shabnam Abedi and assistant director Trent Johnson led a workshop with NABGC members on Saturday, June 3. Everyone shared their history of singing. Members sang through various solos and received feedback from Ms. Abedi. On Sunday morning, select members got an opportunity to sing the solo parts with Ms. Abedi at All Souls Unitarian Church. NABGC and the All Souls Children’s Choir sang with the adult choir on Martin Luther King Sunday morning and performed a song at Musica Viva’s April concert.
Singing following a workshop with Musica Viva
FATHER’S DAY COUNCIL
The NABGC participated in the annual luncheon of the Father’s Day Council on June 9 at the Times Square Sheraton. For the last six years, the NABGC has been given the honor of singing the national anthem for this important event. This annual event is sponsored by The Mother’s Day/Father’s Day Council (a private foundation) which makes an annual donation to NABGC. Thanks to board member Stuart Goldblatt for connecting the NABGC to the Council.
Father’s Day Council Luncheon
ANNUAL MLK PRESENTATION
The NABGC held its annual Martin Luther King Presentation, “Young Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,” on Saturday, January 14. Conceived by James Backmon, it tells the story of young people who made a decision of conscience to stand up to racial discrimination in the 1950s and 60s. The work consists of a narrative, quotations, and civil rights songs. Thanks to volunteer Leonora Morrison for helping edit the script and coaching the choir members of the last few seasons.
Young Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, 2018
