Committed to the Chorus
Children across the five boroughs would rather sing than play

oung People’s Chorus, an after-school program, provides an outlet for New York children who want to improve their voices. This is not a neighborhood choir; the admissions process (a voice tryout) and a commitment to diversity bring kids from all five boroughs.

Raquel Garcia, 16, has been involved with this choir for seven years. She is one of 225 children between ages 8 and 18 enrolled in the program housed at the 92 Street YMCA. The children in the Young People Chorus are grouped in the beginner or intermediate courses or with Raquel in the concert choir.

"Music has always been an important part of my life and this choir has been as well," says Garcia, who lives in Astoria, Queens.

The concert choir will practice up to three times a week for two hours each session. The choir season runs from November through June and costs $465 a child. Garcia says that she loves the diversity of the members in the choir.

"I never really knew a Jewish or Islamic person before I came here. It is really great to be able to meet so many people with different backgrounds," says Garcia, who is from Puerto Rico.

Francisco Nuñez started the children’s choir in 1990. Nuñez, who grew up in Washington Heights, is still the choir’s director. During a practice with an intermediate group he is constantly moving. He quickly sprints toward his students to check the shape of their mouths and their postures.

When he sees one section of students who appear to be slouching, he waves both hands in the air and yells "Stop! What are you doing? Waiting for a bus? I don’t see singers. I see people waiting for a bus."