Keystone State Boychoir

Ready to Sing! Peace Concert, Hiroshima, Japan

Zach Crenshaw, age 13, was disappointed that he wouldn’t be doing anything exciting during his Spring Break from Germantown Friends School. Then he got a call from his choir director inviting him to travel to Japan during spring break and participate in a worldwide musical event for peace.

On April 1, 2013, musicians from the city of Hiroshima and musicians representing the five nuclear weapon states performed together and appealed for nuclear abolition at the “Concert for Peace in Hiroshima” at Aster Plaza in downtown Hiroshima. Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) was selected to send six members to represent the United States.

KSB members joined about 35 mainly younger musicians from Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China to perform in the concert. Also performing were about 100 musicians from Hiroshima. Concert organizer Yasuko Mitsui said, “I would like to convey our wish to leave a peaceful world for future generations”.

Ave Verum Corpus in Hiroshima

It is fitting that KSB was selected to represent the United States, as KSB is the only choir in the world to have toured all seven continents. In 2009, KSB made history as the first choir to perform in Antarctica. More recently, KSB sang at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway for Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi and presented her with a Liberty Bell. Internationally, KSB has performed in the world’s major concert halls, including the Manaus Opera House in Brazil, the Petronas Philharmonik Hall in Malaysia, and the Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam, as well as in venues throughout Canada, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Monaco, France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Norway. Recently, KSB made its Broadway debut with Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell.

KSB brings together 175 boys, ages 8-18, under the direction of Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher. The Keystone State Boychoir encourages and welcomes boys of all experience levels to audition for the choir.

See more from the Hiroshima trip on the KSB Blog.

Twenty new Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) members felt the excitement and the honor last weekend as they donned their new green jackets, awarded on stage during the Harp the Herald Angels Sing holiday concert at Germantown Presbyterian Church last Sunday, January 3. The boys worked hard over the last sixteen weeks to earn their coveted jackets. They performed in their jackets for the first time and were aglow as they took the stage with fellow KSB members, choir directors and talented harpist and KSB alum Jordan Thomas, a Peabody Conservatory senior who accompanied the choir.

KSB is the only choir in the world to have toured all seven continents. In 2009, KSB made history as the first choir to perform in Antarctica. More recently, KSB sang at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway for Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi and presented her with a Liberty Bell. Internationally, KSB has performed in the world’s major concert halls, including the Manaus Opera House in Brazil, the Petronas Philharmonik Hall in Malaysia, and the Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam, as well as in venues throughout Canada, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Monaco, France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Norway.

For information about KSB, call Lori Flynn at 215-287-7039 or visit the website at www.keystonestateboychoir.org. KSB brings together 170 boys, ages 8-18, under the direction of Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher. The Keystone State Boychoir encourages and welcomes boys of all experience levels to audition for the choir.

Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) brought down the house down with their unique energy and stage dynamics as they sang for the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania’s (ACDA-PA) Fall Conference. KSB was invited to take the stage as the headliner performance at the prestigious ACDA-PA conference in an open-to-the-public concert at Zion United Methodist Church in York on Friday, October 19, 2012.

KSB Members at Hershey Park

KSB members were excited to spend the weekend in York and visit Hershey Park on Saturday.  Members were hosted by families from Zion United Methodist Church and sang at the church service there on Sunday.  Approximately 60 selected members of KSB traveled to York for the weekend.

Audiences are moved by KSB’s unique arrangements and energizing stage choreography. The official choir of the Commonwealth, KSB has garnered unprecedented success since their inception in 2001. KSB has 170 members who range in age from 8 to 18 and come from a range of backgrounds and counties in Pennsylvania including Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia.

Under the direction of Steven M. Fisher and Joseph P. Fitzmartin, KSB has sung to full houses locally and abroad, including the Kimmel Center, Mann Music Center and even made its debut on Broadway last spring.  The boys have traveled the world, including making history as the first choir to travel and perform in Antarctica in 2009. This summer, KSB sang at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway for Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and presented her with a Liberty Bell.

The ACDA-PA conference brings together singers, composers, and conductors who share their choral talents in a weekend of events. The ACDA is a non-profit that represents 18,000 choral directors and more than a million singers in the United States whose goal is to bring excellence in choral music through performance, composition, research and teaching.

The Keystone State Boychoir encourages and welcomes boys of all experience levels to audition for the choir. Boys interested in auditioning should call 215-287-3124 or visit the website  at www.keystonestateboychoir.org