Francisco Nunez Is Today's Guest Editor! [MPR's Choral Stream]

Hello!

I am Francisco J. Núñez, the artistic director and founder of the Young People's Chorus of New York City. I am a composer who writes for choirs and instruments. I founded YPC 32 years ago to welcome children of any racial, religious, or economic background to bond through the magic of music: each of them in this close-knit community ceaselessly supports, encourages, and challenges each other to raise ever-higher peaks of artistic excellence.

I also conduct the venerable University Glee Club of New York City – a men’s chorus of 100 singers.

During this pandemic, we are all still singing. At YPC, we have commissioned more than 20 pieces of new music that continue to inspire both our choristers and our online audiences.

Cheers,
Francisco J. Núñez

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VIDEO PICK

Here's a look back at a sensational YPC performance of a work I composed, Liminality, with words by Eric Gamalinda. This piece was commissioned for a special program through National Sawdust in Brooklyn, N.Y. This is an excerpt.

Latest Projects

Since the beginning of the pandemic, YPC has created several new programs for this new virtual reality. Two of these are newly created commissioning programs titled "Just Songs" and "Dear Future."

"Just Songs," premiering this month on YPC.org, is an album of "just songs," commissioned for YPC's youngest singers from a group of eight gifted and ethnically diverse composers — most YPC alumni. The songs, either a cappella or with accompaniment, reflect on how composers are looking at life during this current climate of social change, as they walk, talk, dream, and prepare for the future.

"Dear Future," premiering in November on YPC.org, is a canon of canons for 2020, musically chronicling this singular moment in time. YPC has commissioned 15 two- to four-minute canons, from a diverse group of major composers, such as David Lang, Michael Gordon, Paola Prestini, and Yuka Honda. Each composer has delivered a deep, personal impression of this radically evolving time of new beginnings, which will resonate with listeners now and into the future.

Here is an excerpt from Ted Hearne's newly composed canon: A Definition of Crisis, performed by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Current Playlist

As a composer, I get my inspiration from music from around the globe — especially the Latin Caribbean cultures, South and Central America, and the eastern part of the world, such as Japan and Eastern Russia. And I love to hear the latest techniques from some of my favorite living composers, such as Michael Gordon. Of course, I also go back to the Western canon to listen to instrumental music, especially piano composers like Chopin and Albeniz. I especially love instrumental composers who compose for the voice, such as Debussy. Here are some pieces, in no order, that I have on my most recent playlist:
 

Kavil Sviri - Ensemble Trakia
Anonymous Man - Michael Gordon
Piano Concerto: II. Andante con anima - Aram Khachaturian
3 Chansons de Charles d'Orléans - Claude Debussy
Iberia: Book 1 - Isaac Albéniz (performed by Alicia de Larrocha)