Keystone State Boychoir (KSB), founded in 2001, has enjoyed unprecedented success during its eleven years and has become recognized as one of the finest community-based boychoir programs in the world. Under the direction of Music Director Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Associate Music Director Steven M. Fisher, KSB consists of more than 150 young men between the ages of eight and eighteen who sing an enthralling repertoire from the classical to the contemporary. Major choral works that KSB has performed include Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Orff ’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Britten’s St. Nicolas, and the Fauré Requiem.
KSB has sung with the region’s most distinguished ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, for which it serves as its official boychoir. KSB has appeared in the area’s most prominent venues including the Perelman Theater and Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, and the Mann Music Center.The choir has performed by invitation at conferences of the American Choral Director’s Association, the Australian Music Educators Society, and the International Society of Music Educators. In June of 2012, KSB made its Broadway debut on stage at the Shubert Theatre in a presentation of the musical Oliver! starring Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Internationally, KSB has performed in 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. Having sung in Antarctica, KSB is the only choir to have sung on all seven continents. In July of 2012, KSB made history again when it travelled above the Arctic Circle to Svalbard, Norway and sang in the northernmost church and northernmost theatre in the world.
The KSB experience centers on its truly joyful music-making. The vibrant sound of the choir is enhanced by its compelling stage presence. The music directors believe that today’s choral music should be felt and seen, as well as heard, if the art form is to thrive. They have found that when the unique energy of boys is channeled into choral singing of the highest standard, the result is unforgettable performances for audiences and singers alike.
Keystone State Boychoir and its sister-choir, Pennsylvania Girlchoir, are member-choirs of Commonwealth Youthchoirs, Inc., a non-profit organization founded in 2001 by Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher. Under the leadership of Executive Director Susan S. Ashbaker, this non-profit organization is committed to providing superior choral music education and performance opportunities for young people from diverse economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Anchored in deep caring and respect for each individual singer, our choral programs promote camaraderie and self-discipline and nurture leadership skills in the pursuit of artistic excellence that uplifts and inspires performers and audiences alike.
To learn more about Keystone State Boychoir, visit www.keystonestateboychoir.org.
Pennsylvania Girlchoir, under the direction of Vincent Metallo, Music Director, maintains a repertoire steeped in the classical tradition and enhanced by music from many cultures and time periods. Established in 2004, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir has sung with the region’s most distinguished ensembles and received critical acclaim.
Music critic Michael Caruso said of their recent performance of Fauré’s Requiem with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, “The beauty of the singing of the Motet Choir … was nothing short of breathtaking. The girls sang with flawless tuning, immaculate blend, effortless projection and exquisite phrasing.” The Philadelphia Inquirer lauded the Pennsylvania Girlchoir’s debut in Orff ’s Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Singers. The choir’s stellar performance in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah with the Mendelssohn Club led its music director, Alan Harler, to declare the Pennsylvania Girlchoir “the finest Girlchoir I’ve ever worked with.”
In its eight years, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir has sung with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia (for which it serves as its official girl choir), and other ensembles. The Pennsylvania Girlchoir has also collaborated with many important Philadelphia arts and culture organizations, including The Curtis Institute of Music, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Lyric Fest, WHYY, University of Pennsylvania and Network for New Music. The choir was proud to participate in two world premiere performance events in 2011 as a part of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), collaborating with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in “Hope: An Oratorio,” and with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Keystone State Boychoir in Convergence: A Charm of Moonlight.
In 2012, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir was pleased to perform in The Good Raised Up: A Story of Community, Integrity, and the Road to Freedom at a festival at the Johnson House Historic Site, and Tse Go La with the Mendelssohn Club and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, both commissioned pieces and world premiere performances.
The touring choir of the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, the Motet Choir, has performed in Iceland, the Pacific Northwest, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Uruguay and Argentina.
For more information about Pennsylvania Girlchoir, visit www.pennsylvaniagirlchoir.org.
Find Your Instrument! (FYI!), now in its fifth year at the John Wister Elementary School in Germantown, seeks to bring choral music education to students who otherwise would not have an opportunity to sing during the school day. The program engages 100 children via weekly singing and music-reading sessions over the course of the school year. FYI! has expanded from serving one third grade class to serving all three classes of the third grade, plus engaging continuing fourth, fifth and sixth grade students via launching a school chorus. It also offers to the larger student body, through musical assemblies and sharings, the wonder and joy of discovering one’s singing voice.
Find Your Instrument! (FYI!) is presented by Commonwealth Youthchoirs, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 by Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher. Under the leadership of Executive Director Susan S. Ashbaker, this non-profit organization is committed to providing superior choral music education and performance opportunities for young people from diverse economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Anchored in deep caring and respect for each individual singer, our choral programs promote camaraderie and self-discipline and nurture leadership skills in the pursuit of artistic excellence that uplifts and inspires performers and audiences alike. Pennsylvania Girlchoir and Keystone State Boychoir are member-choirs of Commonwealth Youthchoirs.