Keystone State Boychoir

After a long lay over in Santiago, we had a short flight to Antofagasta, a port city in Northern Chile and the starting point for our ventures into the Atacama Desert.  In Chile, Antofagasta is known as, “La Perla del Norte” or the The Pearl of the North, for its historical and economic importance.

We were met warmly by our homestay families at the “Antofagasta International School,” a beautiful, brightly-decorated campus, seemingly situated on the very edge of the desert. The choir sang briefly for their homestay families before they went home for the evening. The slide show at the bottom of the blog shows the boys with their homestay families, and a link to a full screen version of the slide show can be found below the embedded slideshow.

Antofagasta Homestays at , Antofagasta, Chile on December 17, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Click here for a full screen slide show of the Antofagasta Homestay Reception.

Boy, what a haul! After an overnight flight from JFK to Santiago, we spent the day in the Santiago Airport. Nonetheless, there is never time to rest, and the boys spent the day rehearsing, much to the delight of the other passengers in the terminal.  In particular, the boys singing, “Si Vas para Chile,” enthralled the crowd.

The boys are in great spirits!

Click here to view the gallery as a full-screen slide show.

Members of Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) traveled to the Fox News studios in New York for an appearance on Fox and Friends on Monday, December 14.

Under the direction of Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY) Founder and Artistic Director Steve Fisher, they chatted with the show’s hosts, and the ensemble with KSB member Bobby Hill sang “O Holy Night,” which Bobby just released as a single. The singers also did an “After the Show Show” segment where they talked about the choirs and the impact CY has on the community and sang “Deck the Halls.” Watch the two segments:

Holiday Concert on the Square

Pennsylvania Girlchoir & Keystone State Boychoir

with

• Abington Friends School Choir & William Penn Charter School Choir

• Fairmount Chamber Ensemble

featuring

• Holiday Favorites

• Excerpts from Concert Mass by Joseph Fitzmartin

Sunday, December 20,  2015 | 5:00 pm Church of the Holy Trinity | Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia

The online box office is open! CLICK HERE

Download and share the flyer! (pdf)

Saturday, December 12,  2015 | 5:00 pm

This is the only performance to include the Trainers and Apprentices on the program – the Trainers and Apprentices, along with the PG Scholas and the FYI! Choirs have a command performance at World Cafe Live on Sunday.

Sunday, December 13, 2015 | 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm

The 6:00 pm concert will include the Jacketing of the Concert Choir Candidates.

All performances at First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, 35 West Chelten Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144

The online box office is open!
CLICK HERE for the 5pm Concert on December 12th.
CLICK HERE for the 3pm Concert on December 13th.
CLICK HERE for the 6pm Concert on December 13th.

Download and share the flyer! (pdf)

Philly.com: Papal performer Bobby Hill honored by ‘Ebony’ magazine

Bobby Hill after performing for Pope Francis at Festival of Families (source: Philly.com)

Philly.com Entertainment blogger writes (Monday, November 30, 2015):

Central High School student Bobby Hill has been selected as one of Ebony magazine’s 2015 Power 100 honorees. The list spotlights “the heroes of the black community.”

The 14-year-old breakout star, who is a soloist with the Keystone State Boychoir, rose to prominence during Pope Francis’ Philadelphia visit when he sang an a cappella version of “Pie Jesu.” Hill’s once-in-a-lifetime papal performance was a last-minute affair, said Steve Fisher, founder and artistic director of the choir. Fisher was approached by a producer of the papal concert who asked if the choir could sing during a short set change. Instead, Fisher sent Hill out to sing alone.

Read more 0n Philly.com.

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

Bobby Hill,  one of Ebony Magazine’s 2015 Power 100, to perform at Dec 2nd LA Gala

(Philadelphia, PA: November 29, 2015) Keystone State Boychoir’s Bobby Hill, who impressed Pope Francis and the world with his last minute, stunning a cappella solo in Philadelphia this past September, has been named one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100. Bobby is being honored alongside artists including Prince, John Legend, Janet Jackson and Viola Davis as one of 2015’s “Heroes of the Black Community.” Recognized under “The Future of Everything” category in the magazine’s December edition, Bobby is sharing the limelight with – among other young African American superstars – Jaden and Willow Smith.

“I’ve had some awesome opportunities in the last few months,” says Bobby. “But this one might be the best of all – especially if I get to meet John Legend!”

Bobby and his fellow inspirational figures in the fields of technology, entertainment, and politics will be recognized at Ebony’s 70th Anniversary Gala on December 2nd. The red carpet affair will be held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1945, Ebony is the number one monthly magazine and source for an authoritative perspective on African-American culture and social issues. Bobby is sure to be a standout at the event, as he has been asked to perform on the evening’s program.

“As African Americans, this is a profound honor – not only for our son, but for our entire family,” says proud mom Karla Hill.

From the moment Bobby walked off the stage after his now legendary papal performance, accolades began pouring in from every continent – even Antarctica, where the Keystone State Boychoir , of which Bobby has been a member for 7 years, made history in 2009 as the first choir to perform on “the 7th continent.” Sometimes as a soloist, and sometimes as the “second boy in from the right, third row,” Bobby has been on a performance whirlwind, singing everywhere from local prisons to five star hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Andrew Lloyd Webber himself called Bobby’s rendition of his Pie Jesu for the pope “absolutely stunning.” Webber, one of the most successful musical theatre writers of our time (Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock) has offered to accompany Bobby on the piece at a soon-to-be-announced event scheduled for early 2016. Among other upcoming appearances, Bobby will make his solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at its annual Academy Ball Gala on January 23rd, 2016.

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REQUEST TO COVER TODAY 11/29/2015:

Bobby Hill’s appearance at St. Francis the Oratory with the Keystone State Boychoir.  3pm concert: 2319 Green St., Philadelphia, PA 19130

REQUEST TO COVER TOMORROW 11/30/2015:

Bobby Hill’s appearance at Lankaneau Hospital Tree Lighting, 6pm program: 100 Lancaster Ave, Wynnewood, PA 19096

MEDIA RESOURCES:

(Media can visit our Media Resource page for background information, high resolution photos, and more)

PUBLICATION QUALITY PHOTOS:

Bobby Hill (center) singing with Keystone State Boychoir.
http://www.keystoneboychoir.org/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LH2_0391-2.jpg

Bobby Hill (front center) singing with Keystone State Boychoir.
http://www.keystoneboychoir.org/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LH2_0633-73.jpg

PG is throwing KSB a 15th Birthday Party…
and the whole CY family is invited!
Parents, Alumni, Singers and their siblings too!

Don’t miss all the old-school birthday FUN…!

• “Pin the bowtie on Fitz”

• Buy a chance to take a whack at “Steve Fisher” piñata!

• Musical Chairs – CY style!

• Heavy Hors d’oeuvres! Birthday Cake! Ice Cream!

• Drawing for $2,500 Raffle!

• Exciting surprise announcements*

*This is our fall fundraising event, the only one for this semester.
We ask that each family bring a check or credit card.
By the end of the night, we hope to have inspired you to make a gift
that will benefit all of our programs:
Pennsylvania Girlchoir, Keystone State Boychoir, Find Your Instrument!
and Good Mornin’ Music!

RSVP here!

Download and share the flyer (pdf)

Well I have been to many, many cities of the world. It takes a lot at this point for me to be taken with a city, but St. Petersburg. WOW! It lives up to its reputation and more.

And as always, its the people you meet in a city that make it special. Irina, director of the TV and Radio Dethor of St. Petersburg, is my new BFF. Despite language barriers, we immediately connected. The joys and trials and tribulations of children’s choir directors are universal!

I so look forward to KSB’s visit to St. Petes. We’ll spend a night getting there on a ferry from Scandinavia, and then spend two magical nights in the city. We’ll do a concert in the Kappella Hall, and very famous venue with wonderful acoustics which is associated with the great Russian musicians Mikhail Glinka and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In addition, we’ll visit landmarks like St. Isaacs Basilica, the Hermitage, and my favorite the Church of Splitting Blood. Yes, that’s the actual name of it.  But I bet everyone’s favorite part will be walking along the River Neva. So beautiful.

Be sure you’ve signed up for Instagram and follow us at keystonestateboychoir. Twitter too – follow us at @ksboychoir. There will be a big KSB announcement tomorrow evening. But if you want to be the first to know, you have to follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Kappella Concert Hall, St. Petersburg

TV and Radio Dethor* of St. Peterburg performing in Kappella Concert Hall.  “Dethor” means “Children’s Choir” in Russian)

In just a few hours I’ll be arriving in St. Petersburg. Called Leningrad in Soviet times, this city is an incredible blend of Russian and Scandinavian cultures that makes for one of the most unique cities in the world. And KSB will take it by storm on June 30 – thru July 2nd.

I am arriving on the HRP “Maria” – a prominent member of the Russian royal family in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. Once I’ve arrived,  I will have crossed the entire length of the Baltic Sea on three different ships. Seen one Baltic cruise ship, you’ve seen them all?  Sure, but you boys are still going to love it.  Everyone knows that boys never tire of three things: boat rides, food, and ta ti-ing.

You might have noticed I’ve been a little quiet. I did make one stop at an unknown location.  Wanna know?  Tune into Instagram on Sunday, November 1st to find out.

Map of St.Pete’s…for those who don’t have tour journals!

St. Petersburg – the Venice of Russia!

Famous St. Pete’s landmark…name it!

How about this one?