Hello!

I am Francisco J. Núñez, the artistic director and founder of the Young People's Chorus of New York City. I am a composer who writes for choirs and instruments. I founded YPC 32 years ago to welcome children of any racial, religious, or economic background to bond through the magic of music: each of them in this close-knit community ceaselessly supports, encourages, and challenges each other to raise ever-higher peaks of artistic excellence.

In 1988 as a 22-year-old, I created a children’s program with the goal of fighting racism and poverty through singing. A biracial son of a black Dominican/Haitian father and a Dominican mother, I grew up in Washington Heights as a white Latino with a Spanish accent and name. This was typical in my community, but once I travelled outside the neighborhood, I was an “other” during a very divisive time in a very segregated New York City. Because of this, I perceived inequities and prejudice against my family and neighbors on a regular basis. Living through these challenges, it became my mission to become part of the solution.