We Can Build a Beautiful City
With joy, creativity, and some energetic “choir-ography,” Trinity Youth Chorus celebrated the end of its program year with selections from the musical Godspell.
In one of the final performances of its 21st season, Trinity Youth Chorus offered a joyful presentation of selected songs from Godspell, the Broadway classic that centers around love, compassion, and community.
The choristers, who range in age from 5 to 18 and come from neighborhoods across New York City, embodied the spirit of the musical during the May 17 concert at St. Paul’s Chapel — high-fiving after friends nailed tricky passages and dancing along to one another’s solos. In a brief but telling moment, a high school senior stood beside a second grader singing from the balcony, providing quiet vocal support and a steadying presence to a nervous first-timer.
It was a fitting celebration for a group that prides itself on being inclusive and welcoming, says Peyton Marion, Trinity’s director of Music Education. “We’re always telling our students that choir is about the we, not the me. This approach has become second nature to them, and it’s also exactly what Godspell is about — what’s possible when people from different backgrounds come together to create something beautiful,” Marion says.
Originally conceived by John‑Michael Tebelak, a playwright and lifelong Episcopalian, Godspell retells the Gospel of Matthew through parables and songs. Stephen Schwartz, the award‑winning composer behind Wicked, drew from traditional Christian hymns to create the score. Fifty years after the musical’s Broadway debut, its emphasis on inclusion, joy, and shared belonging has made it especially beloved among Episcopalians.
During the concert, Trinity Youth Chorus sang arrangements of favorites including “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” “Day by Day,” and “Turn Back, O Man.” It added what Marion affectionately calls “choir‑ography” — swaying, stomping, snapping, clapping — to bring the lyrics to life. These ideas came directly from the choristers, a testament to how deeply invested they were in the program.
“They were making artistic choices, giving me suggestions about how loudly or softly to sing different sections and how to incorporate movement,” she says. “It’s amazing to see how music sparks their creativity.”
For more than two decades, Trinity Youth Chorus has helped singers from kindergarten through high school grow in confidence, develop their artistry, and discover their musical voice. The free, high-quality music education program offers training in music theory, sight-reading, and performance. Choristers sing at Trinity Church services and concerts, and also perform at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Perelman Performing Arts Center. By the time they graduate from the program, students have a rich musical foundation they can carry into whatever comes next.
Six graduating high school seniors took part in "We Can Build a Beautiful City," performing duets and joining together for the folk-rock ballad “On the Willows.” At the program’s close, they shared a final curtain call, embracing tightly as they marked the end of their time in a group that has meant so much and for some, has been a constant since kindergarten.
Most of the seniors plan to continue singing in choirs in college, Marion says. All have already asked about returning to Trinity this Christmas to sing as alumni, another beloved Trinity Youth Chorus tradition.
“I hope they remember that they have a whole community full of people cheering them on at Trinity,” she says about the seniors. “And I hope they remember that music is meant to be shared.”