{"id":39388,"date":"2018-12-20T03:00:10","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T08:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=39388"},"modified":"2021-04-23T16:51:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T20:51:58","slug":"musical-disrupter-chorus-longer-uniblob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/musical-disrupter-chorus-longer-uniblob\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanks to This Musical Disrupter, the Chorus Is No Longer a \u2018Uniblob\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is part of our Good on the Ground<\/a> series, profiling women entrepreneurs<\/a> who are addressing social issues in innovative and inspiring ways. Video<\/a> by Sue Williams<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The trouble with choral music, Dianne Berkun Menaker thinks, is it\u2019s a tad standoffish, what with all the formal robes and ecclesiastical vibes. For some people, \u201cit becomes an academic thing — not something they can identify with,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

<\/div>

A Chorus Grows in Brooklyn<\/h2>

Listen to our podcast episode for more of our interview with Dianne Berkun Menaker.<\/h3>

Good thing Menaker happens to be a choral director. She is the founder of the prestigious Brooklyn Youth Chorus<\/a>, a diverse Grammy-award winning choir made up of 600 students who hail from New York City\u2019s roughest neighborhoods to its most elite. The group regularly performs a mix of contemporary classics and pop-music-inspired pieces at celebrated venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, as the chorus was approaching its 25th year, Menaker decided to ask her young students what they<\/i> wanted to sing. \u201cWe have students from so many walks of life, who are dealing with the immigration crisis, who are dealing with racial tensions and racial issues,\u201d she says. \u201cWhy are we performing music [they] wouldn\u2019t even listen to?\u201d<\/p>\n

It turns out, her students had a lot they wanted to say. They came up with \u201cSilent Voices,\u201d an original piece of music that explores race and identity, gender and sexuality, inequity and social disparity. Her concert ensemble — <\/i>a group of advanced choristers, mostly girls, since boys\u2019 voices change before they reach that level —<\/i> debuted \u201cSilent Voices\u201d at Brooklyn Academy of Music in May 2017.<\/p>\n

[Related: This Former Military Officer Is Teaching Young Girls to Be Confident]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The music world took note. \u201cThe music expresses at the most cellular level a process of voice-finding and courage-building,\u201d wrote<\/a> the New York Times\u2019<\/i> Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim. \u201cFor these singers in the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, finding value in their own voices is something priceless,\u201d NPR said<\/a>. Other reviewers called the performance \u201cemotionally charged\u201d and \u201ctransformative.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of the success, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus this past November released<\/a> the studio album \u201cSilent Voices.\u201d In 2019, the concert ensemble will continue to perform the piece at a number of concert halls, including the Kennedy Center in April.<\/p>\n

How She Started<\/h5>\n

As a music teacher at Brooklyn Friends School in the early 1990s, Menaker had noticed that children\u2019s choirs were made up almost exclusively of privileged white boys. She asked the school if she could start an after-school choral program that would be diverse in terms of race, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. She got approval and a $14,000 budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I believe I was able to do it was because I had no idea what was involved,\u201d Menaker says. The first year, she paid for snacks and costumes out of her own pocket. The second year, she asked to reduce her teaching time so she could focus on the chorus. The third year, she decided to quit teaching and commit full-time to growing the chorus.<\/p>\n

With no background in starting a business, \u201ceverything was just a research project,\u201d Menaker says, and she quickly learned to ask for help. To get publicity, she went to then-Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and told him about the community-based choral program. \u201cHe said, “Well, I’ll host a press conference for you,\u201d she says, which led to New York Newsday <\/i>running a big feature. Thank to the early press, she had 48 students the first year.<\/p>\n

After that, Menaker needed to raise funds. She asked a contact at Brooklyn Union Gas, the local utility now known as National Grid, for a charitable donation. \u201cHe said, \u2018I can’t give you money. You’re not a 501(c)(3).\u2019 I said, “Oh, what’s that?\u2019\u201d she says. Again, it was time to research — and Menaker learned that the 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status would allow donors to write off contributions. She filled out the paperwork to structure Brooklyn Youth Chorus as a nonprofit, puzzling over who she could even ask to be on her 6-person board of directors (a legal requirement). \u201cIt was like my mom, a teacher from the school, my mom’s best friend, me, that’s four,\u201d she says. \u201cI don’t remember how we got to six.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Related: Listen to our podcast series<\/a> featuring women entrepreneur’s startup stories]<\/em><\/p>\n

Where It Is Now<\/h5>\n

Today, Brooklyn Youth Chorus has a $2.6 million annual budget and a full-time staff of 15. The group is supported by numerous individuals, corporations and philanthropic institutions. It receives public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts.<\/p>\n

The chorus has grown in size and standing throughout the years. A big milestone came in 2002, when \u201cafter 10 years of reaching out, we got to make our debut with the New York Philharmonic,\u201d Menaker says. The group performed American composer John Adams\u2019 \u201cOn the Transmigration of Souls,\u201d a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, later winning a Grammy <\/a>for live performance. It was \u201cincredibly moving and powerful … one of the most complicated pieces of music I’d ever laid eyes on,\u201d Menaker says.<\/p>\n

As a group, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus has always done things a little differently. For starters, Menaker makes it clear to audiences that the chorus is the lead artist, front and center for any performance. \u201cTypically, the chorus is the background,\u201d Menaker says. \u201cThey are the backup singers, they are the uniblob in the faceless robes in the back of the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

To avoid looking like a traditional choir, \u201cwe try to get off the risers,\u201d she says, referring to multi-tiered platforms that choristers generally stand on. \u201cWe try to get out of uniforms.\u201d The chorus collaborates with a mix of contemporary artists, including rockers that students might relate to, like Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry and The National’s Bryce Dessner. Spoken word is often used in performances, and choristers get \u201cto move about a stage and be in the theatrical side of music,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In recent years, \u201cour projects allow the choruses themselves … to contribute to what the work is,\u201d she says. Last year, the chorus released its first album, Black Mountain Songs, inspired by a legendary arts college in North Carolina. \u201cA transcendently breathtaking sonic experience,\u201d raved<\/a> Bandcamp, a publishing platform for musicians.<\/p>\n

Silent Voices, Now Heard<\/h5>\n

Which brings us to \u201cSilent Voices.\u201d To find out what issues mattered most to her students, Menaker hired a consultant to run an exploratory session. While she expected issues like race and gender and sexual identity to come up (and they did), what emerged from the workshop was the concept that society doesn\u2019t listen to young people\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n

The title \u201cSilent Voices\u201d refers to the fact that choristers are minors, not yet old enough to vote. \u201cThey\u2019re all on the margin — they\u2019re all outside the power and privilege zone,\u201d Benaker says. \u201cNobody values their opinion.\u201d The performances touch on current news events, such as the police shooting of Alton Sterling and #MeToo movement. It\u2019s about \u201cgiving voice to those who have been silenced and marginalized,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

One of her students, Sarah Maria Sotomayor, told<\/a> NPR that the experience has inspired her to compose music. “I can go on and on about growing up as as a mixed Latina woman,” Sotomayor says. “The composers I heard of were Mozart and Bach and Beethoven.\u201d Through \u201cSilent Voices,\u201d she got to interact with female composers Shara Nova and Caroline Shaw. \u201cIt was a lot for someone like me \u2014 who didn’t have anyone in their life who did music \u2014 to be told by someone who is successful in music, ‘You can do this, too.'”<\/p>\n

Menaker says she\u2019s most proud of the \u201cnurturing environment\u201d she has developed at Brooklyn Youth Chorus. \u201cWe have literally created this family … where there’s no wrong sound, where mistakes are encouraged, where everybody is welcome.\u201d And where there\u2019s no uniblob, but a collection of strong, individual voices, getting ready to lead the way.<\/p>\n

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\r\n\t\tRead Full Transcript<\/i><\/span><\/a>\r\n\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t

SOT: One, two, three! (Children\u2019s chorus singing)<\/p>\n

Dianne: It all begins with a love of singing. The kid has to want to be there, because a lot\u2019s going to be asked of them.<\/p>\n

TEXT: Dianne Berkun Menaker \u2013 Founder + Artistic Director \u2013 Brooklyn Youth Chorus \u2013 Brooklyn, New York<\/p>\n

Dianne: Brooklyn Youth Chorus is a citywide community-based music program that is both an educational training school and a professional-level performing ensemble.<\/p>\n

TEXT: Dianne grew up close to New York City in a family with little interest in music.<\/p>\n

Dianne: Everything I have done with music has been pretty much entirely self-motivated. So I played because I wanted to play, practiced because I wanted to practice. From seventh grade on up, I was the school chorus accompanist.<\/p>\n

TEXT: Dianne studied music education at New York University. <\/p>\n

TEXT: At the same time, she ran a music program at a nearby public school. <\/p>\n

Dianne: I had no idea what I was doing as a teacher. I just tried to do what I had learned from being in the room as a pianist. I found that working with kids was actually something really fulfilling.<\/p>\n

TEXT: After graduating in 1988, Dianne moved to Brooklyn and began teaching music at a local private school.<\/p>\n

Dianne: I came across a performance of the Hungarian girls chorus. And it was just a sound that\u2026It was my thing. It was just like, \u201cWow, I love that sound. How did that happen? I have to work with that sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

TEXT: Inspired by the Hungarian choir, Dianne decided to start an independent co-ed chorus.<\/p>\n

Dianne: I went to the borough president and I said, \"I want to do this of and for Brooklyn. There can't be a financial barrier.\" We never turn away a child who can't afford to pay. That's just a founding value.<\/p>\n

TEXT: Dianne started Brooklyn Youth Chorus in 1992.<\/p>\n

Dianne: Basically, the reason I believe I was able to do it was because I had no idea what was involved. Everything was just a research project. What\u2019s a nonprofit? What does it mean to incorporate? What's a board? You need six people. So I was like, my mom, a teacher from the school, my mom's best friend, me, that's four.<\/p>\n

TEXT: Nearly 300 children from grades 2-12 come to audition every year.<\/p>\n

TEXT: About 200 are accepted.<\/p>\n

TEXT: The students are grouped by age, skill and experience.<\/p>\n

Dianne: We have literally created this family, this house here that is the most nurturing environment for these kids. We have students who are dealing with racial tensions and sexual identity. This is their safe space.<\/p>\n

SOT: Separate, connect, separate. You have to own the material.<\/p>\n

SOT: (Brooklyn Youth Chorus performing)<\/p>\n

Dianne: My biggest job here really is quality control, maintaining the standards that I take in the artistic side, which I believe is why we're so successful and why people ask us back, because they know I will deliver that artistic product.<\/p>\n

TEXT: The annual budget is around $2.6million. There are 15 full-time staff members.<\/p>\n

TEXT: It trains about 600 students a year who now come from all over New York City. <\/p>\n

TEXT: And they sing a broader repertoire.<\/p>\n

Dianne: Boys, they go through a voice change, so we created the men\u2019s ensemble so we could keep them, having the same experience, but on a repertoire they can sing. The issues for girls are very different. Adolescence is such a vulnerable time for girls. They're so afraid to put their voice out there. They're afraid to be loud. All of a sudden, this voice comes out, and they catch themselves by surprise. They\u2019re like, \u201cAh, that was me. I did that. That was my sound!\u201d<\/p>\n

SOT: (Girls chorus singing)<\/p>\n

Dianne: You can't take that away from them. It's them. It's theirs. They own it. And it's like, that's the everything.<\/p>\n<\/p>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n

Do you have an interesting story? Tell us here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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