Case Study Music as Access - The YPC Model

Francisco J. Nuñez
Founder & Artistic Director
Young People’s Chorus of New York City

Napa Valley Vintners Theater
Session II  |  10:20am – 11am
 

What happens when you build a children’s chorus on a single, radical premise: everyone gets in? Rather than asking what can children do with music, Núñez asks what can the community around them give so that each may succeed and give back. The answer has produced college-ready, resilient young people who perform in the world’s great concert halls, with documented results in academic preparedness, social-emotional growth, and lifelong community engagement, providing a successful framework for how the arts, when anchored in artistic rigor and radical welcome, function as a genuine intervention for youth mental health, belonging, and self-determination.

Biography

Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year, is a composer, conductor, visionary, leading figure in music education, and the Artistic Director/founder of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC). In establishing YPC, Núñez has created an awareness of the ability of young people to rise to unforeseen heights of artistry and recognition. Núñez also leads the University Glee Club of New York City, its fifth conductor since the all-men’s chorus was established in 1894.

He is sought after as a guest conductor, master teacher, and collaborator by orchestras, choirs, and arts organizations worldwide. He recently curated an installation with High Line Nine of live performances, video, art, and film, highlighting 15 musical premieres by YPC. The many achievements of YPC led Núñez to establish YPC National, which is now expanding the YPC model to children’s choruses beyond New York City. As a composer, Núñez creates countless compositions and arrangements in all musical formats and styles for choirs, orchestras, and solo instruments. Among his many awards and honors are ASCAP’s Victor Herbert Award, the New York Choral Society’s Choral Excellence Award, and Bang on a Can’s Visionary Award. NYU Steinhardt has presented him with its Distinguished Alumnus Achievement Award, and he holds honorary Doctor of Music degrees from both Ithaca College and Gettysburg College.