Thread by @humansofny

(1/5) “On the morning of my ninth birthday, my mom told me I could have a party. She said: ‘Invite all your friends.’ But there weren’t any friends. I went around the block, looking for kids to invite. It’s like: ‘How do I get these kids to like me?’ I didn’t look like anyone..."

(2/5) “In my early teens I’d search through the newspaper for local piano competitions. I’d go to them alone. At the registration table I would lie and say my parents were waiting outside. Then I’d get up on stage in my cheap polyester suit, and I’d begin to play..."

(3/5) “NYU changed my life. I was surrounded by all these different types of people. I was a performance major, but I’d sneak into other classes: economics, business, literature. I wanted to know the same stuff that everyone else knew. My whole world opened up..."

(4/5) “There wasn’t much of a crowd at our first few concerts. People would come once-- to feel good about themselves. To see a choir of underprivileged children. But then they wouldn’t come back. I didn’t want that. I wasn’t trying to be a good story. I wanted to be a..."

(5/5) “Thirty years ago I started The Young People’s Chorus of New York City with nine kids. Now we serve over two thousand. We hold 100 performances every year. There have been so many tournaments, so many first-place prizes. This year we became the first..."