The Keystone State Boychoir is a
boys' choir in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. The group performs a wide range of songs and has sung on all seven continents.
History
The Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) consists of more than 190 young men between the ages of 8 and 18, who perform a wide variety of styles including classical, contemporary, and diverse choral traditions.
Major choral works that KSB has performed include Orff's ''Carmina Burana'', Handel's ''Messiah'', Mendelssohn's ''Elijah'', Britten's ''St. Nicolas'', and Fauré's ''Requiem''. The ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' review declared KSB's 2003 performance in Bach's ''St. Matthew Passion'' with the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia at Verizon Hall to be “excellent.”
KSB has sung with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, the
Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Singers, and in venues such as the Perelman Theater at the
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the
Academy of Music, and the
Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Other notable venues include the Manaus Opera House in Brazil, the Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam, the
Petronas Philharmonic Hall in Malaysia, La Madeline in France, and Hall Bulgaria. KSB has also performed in Alaska, Canada, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Monaco, Germany, Austria, and Chile. The Boychoir has been the guest choir for the
July 4 celebrations in the US Embassies of Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, and Sofia.
The Keystone State Boychoir is part of the
Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY), a non profit organization that serves over 600 children. Its mission is to transform the lives of young people through the power of making music together. CY is made of four different programs: the Keystone State Boychoir, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, Find Your Instrument! (''an outreach program in underserved schools''), and Good Mornin' Music (''early childhood music program''). Founded in 2001 by Joseph P. Fitzmartin and Steven M. Fisher, CY offers its members outstanding choral music education and performance opportunities that foster leadership, character, and self-discipline.
On December 23, 2009, the Keystone State Boychoir became the first choir to sing in Antarctica when they performed for a holiday party at Frei Base, King George Island. As a result, they are also the first choir ever to sing on all seven continents.
[http://www.publimetro.cl/nota/noticias/coro-keystone-state-boychoir-se-presenta-en-base-aerea-antartica/CPIilx!6RrL8K9cSBnmdCgHiwLAg/]
Joseph Fitzmartin
Joseph P. Fitzmartin (born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 1943) is an American composer and arranger. He is one of the founders and the Music Director of the Keystone State Boychoir as well as Choral Director at the
William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.
His ''Concert Mass'' for
symphony orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
and
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, had its world premiere at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
and has since been performed at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
, in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, and in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
by the
Novgorod Symphony. Following an international composition competition, he was awarded a grant from the
Basel Boys Choir of
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
to compose a major work for an international celebration of youth choirs. The work featured the
German text of the poet
Hanns Dieter Hüsch and continues to be performed throughout that country.
References
Further reading
*Keystone State Boychoir , original a
Joseph Fitzmartin, Music Director
External links
Commonwealth YouthchoirsKeystone State BoychoirPennsylvania Girlchoir
{{authority control
Choirs in Pennsylvania
Boys' and men's choirs
Musical groups from Pennsylvania