The Songs of Peter, Paul & Mary

Arranged and Conducted by
Robert DeCormier
Featuring
Peter Yarrow (M&A ’55) and Noel Paul Stookey
with a string ensemble of 20 players – mostly from LaGuardia High School – and 30 members of the New York Choral Society (NYCS).
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Over the years, Robert DeCormier, Peter Paul and Mary’s Music Director, wrote both choral and orchestral arrangements for many of the trio’s most beloved songs. These were traditionally sung at Carnegie Hall benefits for The New York Choral Society of which Robert DeCormier was also Founder, Director & Conductor. This gala benefit concert at Symphony Space on September 29th at 8pm will feature these songs and honor Robert DeCormier, who will also conduct. Performers will include Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, members of The New York Choral Society, and an orchestral ensemble composed of students and graduates of LaGuardia High School and the High School of Music & Art (Peter’s alma mater). All proceeds will benefit Operation Respect, an educational non-profit that focuses on the creation of caring, safe, bully-free school climates in thousands of schools in the U.S. and Canada as well as countries such as Israel, Ukraine, Croatia, Hong Kong and Japan.

Here is a note from Peter Yarrow (M&A ’55)

Dear M&A alums,
You should know that, as with many of you, after 6 decades, I still regard my 4 years at M&A as the most idyllic and inspiring of my life. It was, and continues to be, a joy and an honor to have shared that history with you.

Now, in the spirit of what M&A was all about, I’m alerting you to a special benefit concert with Noel Paul Stookey and me (Mary passed, alas, 7 years ago) along with a string ensemble of 20 players- mostly from La Guardia High School (how great!) — and 30 members of the New York Choral Society (NYCS).

This is a benefit for the non-profit I co-founded in 1999 called Operation Respect that has a free classroom based curriculum called “Don’t Laugh at Me” that’s been implemented by approximately 22,000 schools in the US, as well as Israel, Ukraine, Croatia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and the list goes on.

You can download this curriculum, free, with videos, music and more at www.operationrespect.org Particularly if you work with children in a professional capacity, it might be helpful. I’m proud to say it’s proved to be highly effective in terms of creating a more caring, empathetic, bully-free school environment and a strong school community. Incidentally, what distinguishes us from other similar programs is our inclusion of music in a meaningful way as a way to open kids’ and teachers’ hearts and make them available to the experiential Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) exercises.

Sending love, and in peace, as always,
Peter

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