Keystone State Boychoir

The Philadelphia Inquirer covered the premiere performance of “Vedem,” which tells the story of boys held at the Terezin concentration camp during World War II. Inquirer reporter Mari A. Schaefer writes about the performance, its background, and Sidney Zdenek Taussig, the last survivor of the “Vedem boys,” who was 12 years old at the time of the story. The Keystone State Boychoir and New Jersey Boychoir singers who performed “Vedem” are close in age to the boys held at Terezin. Only four of those boys survived beyond the camp.

Read the story, learn why the concert is named “Vedem,” and see more photos on Inquirer.com

2017 KSBoychoir Festival!

What: A one-day festival for boys in grades 4-7 with unchanged voices who love to sing, who have found their singing voices and who have some choral experience.

When: Saturday, January 28, 2017, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (3:00 pm concert). A second festival will be held Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Where: First Presbyterian Church in Germantown (KSB rehearsal home) 35 W. Chelten Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144

Who: Hosted by the Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and led by its directors, Mr. Joseph Fitzmartin and Mr. Steven Fisher

Why: The boys will spend the day singing great music with other boys. When a boy sings with a mass choir of two hundred boys, it is empowering beyond words. Such an experience builds his esteem as a male singer and will motivate him to keep singing in his current choirs and in choirs throughout his life. The KSBoychoir Festival will culminate with a concert that will feature the Festival Choir and the world-renowned Keystone State Boychoir. Families and friends are welcome to attend.

Download a flyer (pdf – opens in a new browser window)

Learn more on the Festival website!

There’s a Festival for Girls, too!

What: A one-day festival for girls grades 4-6 who love to sing, who have found their singing voices, and who have some choral experience.

When: Saturday, January 14, 2017, from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm (6:15 pm concert). A second festival is planned for Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Where: Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118

Who: Hosted by the Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) and led by Festival Conductors Mr. Vincent Metallo and Dr. Elizabeth Parker.

Why: The girls will spend the day singing great music with other girls. When a girl sings with a mass choir of one hundred girls, it is empowering beyond words. Such an experience builds her esteem as a female singer and will motivate her to keep singing in her current choirs and in choirs throughout her life. The GETMusic! Festival will culminate with a concert that will feature the Festival Choir and the world-renowned Pennsylvania Girlchoir. Families and friends are welcome to attend.

Download a flyer (pdf – opens in a new browser window)

Learn more on the GETMusic Festival website!

Commonwealth Youthchoirs’ Gala Concert on June 18 at 7:30 pm in the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall will showcase Pennsylvania Girlchoir alumna Kathleen “Katie” O’Mara and KSB alumnus Christopher “Chris” Hochstuhl as the soloists for Fitz’s Concert Mass. Katie began at PG as a seventh grader and toured in Argentina and Uruguay as well as Italy before graduating in 2014. Chris joined KSB in ninth grade and participated in several mini-tours before graduating in 2011. Meet the soloists.

An unexpected performance for Pope Francis made 14-year-old Bobby Hill a celebrity overnight. But with the phone ringing off the hook, Hill and those around him are facing an implacable foe: Mother Nature.

KSB singer Bobby Hill is profiled by Philadelphia Magazine writer Victor Fiorillo (December 6, 2015):

Three months after unexpectedly sharing the stage with Pope Francis on the Parkway, Bobby Hill is still being recognized everywhere he goes.

Consider just this past week: On Monday, Bobby’s father took him shopping for a new suit, and whether they were at Joseph A. Bank at Liberty Place or the Boscov’s in Plymouth Meeting, people would point and whisper Isn’t that the kid who sang for the pope?

On Wednesday, in Beverly Hills, where the 14-year-old was honored at the Ebony Power 100 gala along with John Legend, Prince, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, music managers and agents shoved business cards in his face while members of the African-American power crowd snapped selfies with him.

And this Sunday afternoon, someone will no doubt recognize him as he walks the red carpet at the Broadway premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. Certainly Sir Andrew will know who he is — Hill is going as the legendary composer’s invited guest.

Bobby Hill’s newfound fame arose because the millions who saw him sing for Pope Francis — a performance that Hill didn’t even know would happen until five minutes before he walked out on stage — fell in love with his heavenly voice. But at 14 and on a collision course with puberty, will he still be an angelic soprano by the time he is to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy Ball in January — or will his voice go all Peter Brady on him?

“He is supposed to sing with the Orchestra, yes,” says longtime mentor and instructor Steven Fisher, co-founder of the Keystone State Boychoir. “But I am worried that he is not going to make it. His voice is a ticking time bomb.”

Read more of the story: Bobby’s headaches, how the choir and Bobby ended up singing for Pope Francis, that “ticking time bomb” of Bobby’s voice, and Bobby’s future possibilities on PhillyMag.com

Bobby in hockey gear around age 9. (photograph courtesy of the Hill family)

The young soprano will perform at its Los Angeles gala this Wednesday.

Bobby Hill (front center) with Keystone State Boychoir

PhillyMag.com’s Sarah Jordan reported in the Ticket section on November 30, 2015:

Remember Bobby Hill? He’s the 14-year-old with the “voice of an angel” who wowed the world during Pope Francis’s papal visit with his last-minute a cappella performance of “Pie Jesu.” He’s a soloist with the Keystone State Boychoir and is having quite the autumn since that breakout performance. 

Selected as one of Ebony magazine’s 2015 Power 100, Hill is flying out to Los Angeles to sing at the magazine’s 70th Anniversary Gala this Wednesday, December 2nd at the Beverly Hilton. This Central High School student should have plenty to keep him from getting bored as he’ll be honored alongside Prince, Penn alum John Legend, Janet Jackson and Viola Davis.

Three weeks ago, he and 50 members of the Keystone State Boychoir auditioned at Queens College on November 14th for Simon Cowell’s America’s Got Talent. Steve Fisher, founder and artistic director of the choir, says that Cowell has followed Bobby’s story since the papal concert and has a soft spot for the sound of boy choirs.”We’re not through yet,” says Fisher, “but we didn’t have to wait in line. It’s really a screen test with one producer and a camera. Bobby sang four different pieces with the choir behind him. We’ll find out next month, if we go through to the next step.” That would entail flying 50 members of the choir out to Hollywood for a week to film the initial episodes for the season, which airs sometime this summer.

When asked to make a prediction about the ensemble heading to Tinselftown, Fisher says, “It’s hard to know. These shows are so quirky, but they’re always looking for a great narrative in addition to talent.”

“As a nonprofit celebrating its 15th year, we are always scrounging and being frugal,” says Fisher. “But they wanted as many boys there as possible. I asked how they’d have the budget to fly out 50 kids. They laughed and said, ‘This is Hollywood. If Simon wanted 100 boys there, that’s what he’d get.’”

While Hill waits for the results, he can rehearse for another upcoming special performance. He is scheduled to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its Academy Ball in late January.

Read more on PhillyMag.com

Keystone State Boychoir and Pennsylvania Girlchoir members rehearsing Thursday evening, September 24, in preparation for their performance to an audience including Pope Francis with Juanes and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Festival of Families. Read the story here.

go to the gallery on Smugmug

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Leanne Clancy at Lclancy@greenestreetfriends.org or 484-410-9664

PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI YOUTH CHORUS TO APPEAR AT KIMMEL JUNE 28

(Philadelphia, June 15, 2015) “Transcending conflict through song.” That’s the motto of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC), an ensemble of Palestinian and Israeli high school students from East and West Jerusalem who not only sing together, but regularly discuss the challenging issues facing their divided region in the hope of being forces for peace. On June 28-29, JYC will be hosted by Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) and Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) when it comes to Philadelphia on the final leg of its US Tour.

The visit will include a “dialogue workshop” whereby members of PG and KSB will learn from the members of JYC how to discuss difficult topics in a open, honest, and respectful manner. Rather than focusing on the issues of the Middle East, the workshop will focus on race issues in America. The hope is that the young people of PG and KSB can use the communication skills they develop to be agents of change and peace in their own communities.

The visit includes a joint performance with all three choirs at 7:00pm in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, June 28. The concert will also feature special guests the Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble. Tickets are on sale through the Kimmel Center Box Office at kimmelcenter.org. Premium seats can be obtained through “Peace in the Middle East” Sponsorships at cychoirs.org.

The Pennsylvania Girlchoir and Keystone State Boychoir organization serves over 650 young people between the ages of 4 and 18 throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding communities. Its singers are no strangers to the legacy of peace. KSB toured India with Gandhi’s grandson as well performed in Oslo at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Here at home, PG sang for Malala Yousafzai, Liberty Medal winner and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history. The choirs have travelled the globe, as far north as Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population, and as far south as Antarctica. They are the only choral organization in history to have sung on all seven continents.

(Media can visit our Media Resource page http://cychoirs.org/jyc-media for background information, high resolution photos, and more. Please contact Leanne Clancy at Lclancy@greenestreetfriends.org or 484-410-9664 for more information and details on media availabilities during the JYC visit.)

A panel of Philadelphia business and thought leaders was asked by Philadelphia magazine to name Philadelphia-based and -focused organizations they support personally and why whey would recommend them to others.

Keystone State Boychoir was recommended by Ajay Raju, co-chairman and CEO of Dilworth Paxson. Here’s what he shared:

“Keystone State Boychoir, the only choir in the world to have sung in Antarctica and on all seven continents, serves 190 boys from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds ranging from ages 8 to 18. They are our region’s finest global ambassadors.”

You can join Ajay Raju with an end of year gift by visiting our online giving page here:

See the full article on Phillymag.com