Spring Sings, 2018

For choristers who wish to broaden their musical and technical skills, Brooklyn Youth Chorus houses an extensive music electives program, offering private vocal and instrument lessons, performance workshops, high school audition classes and more. 

Those who study privately have the opportunity to perform for friends and family in a recital at the end of each term. These courses are optional but are strongly encouraged.

Register for Private Lessons - Sign Up Now!

Registration is now open for spring private voice and piano lessons for choristers aged 7+. Spring lesson package are for 17 lessons and lesson scheduling is on a first come, first serve basis. Register EARLY to increase your chance of getting your preferred day and time. To ensure you can start lessons on time (the week of January 6-12) be sure to enroll no later than the registration deadline: Tuesday, January 2.

REGISTERING AND SCHEDULING YOUR PRIVATE LESSON

Register for Private Lessons via the Parent Portal. Once you have done this, an email will be sent confirming your registration. This email will also include the private lessons scheduling form, which will request information regarding your availability for lessons.

Once you have completed the abvailability form, Brooklyn Youth Chorus will pair you with an instructor, and we will reach out to you about scheduling a lesson based on your responses on the scheduling form. We do our very best to schedule a lesson according to your preferences, however, preferred slots are not guaranteed. Should the assigned lesson time not work for you, we will work with you to find a time that does, or we will issue you a full refund.

Voice
Sydney Anderson
Sebastian Armendariz
Julianna Grabowski
Jennifer Roderer

Piano
William Evans

Music Electives Faculty Bios

Soprano Sydney Anderson has been praised for her “stunning vocal fireworks,” and “authentic stage presence.” A contemporary music enthusiast, Sydney has participated in numerous World Premieres and workshops, most recently featured at Opera America with Aural Compass Projects, at National Sawdust with Beth Morrison Projects, and as Snow/Child on the 2021 World Premiere recording of The Selfish Giant (Assad/Palmer) with American Lyric Theater. Last season, she created the roles of Dalinda in Being Ariodante (Dawe) with Ensemble Échappé, and ONE in it is a comfort to know (Gartman/Bywaters), and sang the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Scalia/Ginsburg with Opera in the Heights.  Sydney was named an Eastern District Winner of the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and won the Audience Favorite Award at the Region Finals. During the pandemic, she founded The Why Collective, which produces and supports contemporary performance art projects with the primary mission of encouraging collaborative and spontaneous creation across multiple artistic disciplines. Their durational launch project, Vexations in Time, was performed in Anita’s Way (Times Square) in 2021, and at Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre (Chelsea) in 2022, where they will be in residence beginning in January 2023. Sydney holds a double Bachelors degree from the University of Hartford (BM/BME) where she studied under renowned early childhood music pedagogue, Dr. John Feierabend, and a Masters in Vocal Performance from the University of Houston. She also teaches voice and First Steps in Music for Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Sebastian Armendariz is a Mexican-American tenor, actor, teaching artist, content creator, and cancer survivor currently based in New York City. Sebastian has been a voice teacher since 2015, working with students of all ages and abilities. Most recently he has collaborated with Hispanic Culture Arts, an organization that provides artistic curricula centering the arts of the Hispanic world to NYC public schools. In 2022, Sebastian performed art song (featuring Spanish repertoire) with Salon 58 and the Federation of the Art Song as well as opera and zarzuela with Richmond County Orchestra. Since 2020, Sebastian has made his TV debut, performed in new musical workshops in NYC, and collaborated with the Chicago based non-profit music organization, Hearing In Color, to produce "Latinidad - La gente y la música" a work that highlights the lives and art of Latinx artists in the classical music world. Before 2020, he performed with Indianapolis Opera as a resident artist, the Chautauqua Institution, and Sarasota Opera as an apprentice artist. Sebastian holds a Master of Music degree in voice performance and pedagogy from DePaul University in Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. He is the youngest of five children, a proud uncle, and a lover of sonnets, soccer, and Salsa dancing.  

Julianna Grabowski is a conductor, music educator, soprano and pianist from Syracuse, New York. Her passion for teaching and performing has led her to obtain two Bachelor of Music degrees from the State University of New York at Fredonia in Music Education and Vocal Performance, studying both voice and piano. She earned a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Duquesne University, where she also served as the Graduate Assistant to Duquesne’s Choral Department. As a professional soprano, Julianna was a Young Artist with Finger Lakes Opera, and has performed with professional groups including the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Lake Junaluska Singers in North Carolina, and The Dukes Music in Pittsburgh. She has also worked as a collaborative pianist at public schools and universities across the states of New York and Pennsylvania. Julianna’s recent work includes the positions of Choral Assistant and Principal Accompanist at Duquesne University, Teaching Artist at New Groove Music Studio, Assistant Conductor and Soprano Section Leader of the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Managing Director of the Pittsburgh Girls Choir, and Conductor of Pittsburgh Girls Choir’s adult ensemble, Women of Song. In addition to her work with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Julianna currently serves as the Director of Children’s Music Ministries at Brick Presbyterian Church.

Visit juliannagrabowskimusic.com to learn more about Julianna!