(Courtesy of Kaplen JCC on the Palisades) The Young People’s Chorus at the Thurnauer School of Music competed at a demanding “Music in the Parks” competition on May 17 in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and won for Best Overall Choir for the third year in a row, and won the First Place Superior award for a performance of “Gnothi Safton” by Jim Papoulis and “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre. The judges also gave them a perfect score for their performance of “Gnothi Safton,” a rare honor. A younger division of the chorus also won first place in the Excellent in the Elementary competition for their performance of “Klee Wyck” by Brian Tate and “Dreams of the Sleeping Birds” by Amy F. Bernon.

“We are so proud of our students,” said Emma Brondolo, M.S.Ed., artistic director of the Young People’s Chorus@Thurnauer and director of early childhood music and voice studies at the Thurnauer School of Music. “The mission of Music in the Parks is to provide music festivals for bands, orchestras, choirs and other student music groups, and as fellow music educators, our mission at Thurnauer is to bring students and adjudicators together in a positive learning environment that will inspire our singers to strive not only for excellence, but to make music a lifelong activity. Competitions like Music in the Parks make this possible and this was a remarkable day for all of us.”

The Young People’s Chorus@Thurnauer is an affiliate of the world-renowned Young People’s Chorus of New York City. They sing at weekly rehearsals at the JCC with numerous performance opportunities throughout the year. The singers explore a repertoire that ranges from classical and contemporary to jazz and pop. The chorus is currently accepting registrations for next year. For more information, visit jccotp.org/thurnauer or call Emma at 201-569-7900, x230.