It Was Fate...

I happened to be watching Good Morning America three summers ago when I saw the PS22 chorus perform the video of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" posted below. PS22 stands for Public School 22 from Staten Island, New York. Made up of mostly 5th graders, the choir has quickly become the "best known elementary chorus on the planet" according to New York magazine. They're a YouTube sensation with tons videos to choose from (and over 46,000,000 hits!).  They've since performed at the 2011 Academy Awards & the White House!

And wouldn't you know it?! I was excited to find they also have a blog on Google! I encourage you to check it out if you want to learn more about this amazing choir: http://ps22chorus.blogspot.com/

I'm always looking for videos to show my choir students of other choirs performing. I've shown this clip to all my students over the past few years and they've loved it!! I especially like to use this clip when talking about the concept of 'Stage Presence.' Having stage presence means a choir's presentation of a song conveys the message/emotion of the piece via facial expressions, confidence and appropriate posture/movement. As you can see from the video clip, the students' facial expressions and emotional involvement are unparalleled. It never fails to bring a smile to my face!

This video's great motivation for my middle schoolers too... if they see that 5th graders can accomplish good stage presence, they know they can do it too. PS22 Chorus and this video is a great tool in teaching such a difficult concept. I say difficult because middle schoolers aren't willing to try something when there's a chance they might look 'uncool' or feel awkward. This video makes it look cool.