Born in New York City of Dominican descent, Francisco J. Nunez is a composer, conductor, a leading figure in music education, and a visionary, whose strongly held ideas have resulted in the critical and popular success of the award-winning Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), a chorus of 250 young people from 8 through 18 of all ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds. One of today's most sought-after youth choirs with celebrated performances on three continents, YPC is the resident chorus of both the 92nd Street Y and WNYC, New York Public Radio, the first and only resident radio choir of any New York City radio station. In addition, together with the New York City Department of Education, Mr. Nunez is bringing the YPC choral program to an additional 400+ children as part of the chorus's Satellite Schools program in five New York City schools. Mr. Nunez is often contacted by cities around the country for help in replicating the YPC success.

Mr. Nunez formed the chorus in 1988 at the Children's Aid Society of New York City, where he served for nine years as director of music, in an effort to foster personal and artistic growth and cross-cultural understanding among the children, as well as to provide a safe haven where young people from many different backgrounds could come together with the common goal of learning and creating beautiful music.

In addition to their acclaimed performances, Mr. Nunez and the YPC are impacting the world of choral music itself through their groundbreaking Transient Glory series of concerts, CDs and publications, by commissioning today's most distinguished composers to write music for children's choirs. To date, YPC has sung more than 50 world premieres and commissioned 41 new works, 20 of which have already been published by Boosey & Hawkes in association with G. Schirmer and Chester Novello. The chorus's first Transient Glory CDs was released in 2004 to critical raves.

Mr. Nunez is also a composer whose award-winning works and arrangements for choirs, orchestras, and solo instruments are inspired by a wide range of Latin cultures and musical idioms. A CD of his music, entitled Cantan, recorded by the Ithaca College Women's Chorus under the direction of Janet Galvan was released in 2004. As a conductor, Mr. Nunez also leads the University Glee Club of New York City, the New York University Singers and NYU Women's Chorus, is active as a guest conductor and master teacher for choral workshops, demonstrations, and festivals nationwide.

For his exemplary work with children, YPC Artistic Director Francisco Nunez has been presented with numerous awards, such as the prestigious Child Champion award from Child magazine, a Liberty Award from the New York Post, and a Luminary Award from Casita Maria. He has also been honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics of 2005 by Hispanic Business magazine and selected for GMC's advertising campaign as an unsung Hispanic hero doing great work in his community.

Groups Directed

Young People's Chorus of New York City