Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Paola Prestini, Jad Abumrad, Jessica Grindstaff
PORT(AL)
“A sprawling, ambitious, innovative new collaborative production” (Vogue).
PORT(AL) is an epic new work charting the Brooklyn Navy Yard and a history of women’s work in New York, co-created by the GRAMMY Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus (“a mammoth choir that lends a shot of instant grandiosity to everything they touch” — Pitchfork), Jad Abumrad (Radiolab), Paola Prestini, Jessica Grindstaff, Ogemdi Ude and a chorus of more than 50 young singers.
A mesmerizing new choral theater experience, PORT(AL) opens a hidden doorway to the past within the depths of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Ebbing, flowing, and interweaving throughout this immersive piece are the voices of the youth chorus speaking to their relationship to their very own time and place, and their future.
Vividly evoking and honoring Brooklyn’s ghosts, PORT(AL) spins oral histories from recently passed figures like historian Howard Zinn and activist Clarence L. Irving, Sr. Dive into the currents of time and discover the hidden depths of the Navy Yard’s past, where the trailblazing spirit of machinist and drag king Rusty Brown (played by performance artist Cynthia Hopkins) and the pioneering voice of mezzo soprano Eugenia Farrar surge like tidal waves.
PORT(AL) is not just a performance; it’s an immersive passage through time, transforming the PS21 Pavilion Theater into a space where the boundaries between eras dissolve, audience members traverse the stage, and the enduring spirit of the human story sets sail.
Learn more at https://www.portalbyc.com
PORT(AL) was partially developed in residency at PS21 in early 2025.
Photo credit: Toby Tenenbaum
Join Jad Abrumad (founder of Radiolab) and Paola Prestini (composer, Artistic Director of National Sawdust), co-creators of PORT(AL), for an illuminating artist talk with PS21 Artistic & Executive Director Vallejo Gantner. They’ll dive into the vibrant backdrop of the new piece before it comes to PS21 on Saturday, June 21st. Hudson’s legendary riverside bar and venue, The Half Moon, provides the perfect setting for the talk, as the artists explore the fascinating history of port cities and how to bring that to life through art. The event is free and open to the public.
Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s Grammy Award-winning ensemble, led by Founder & Artistic Director Dianne Berkun Menaker, is one of the most highly regarded ensembles in the country and has stretched the artistic boundaries for the youth chorus. Hailed by The New York Times as “a polished ensemble of miniature professionals,” the Chorus has performed with acclaimed conductors including Alan Gilbert, Marin Alsop, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and has collaborated with an impressive range of organizations and artists including the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, The National, David Byrne, Wye Oak, Bon Iver, Shara Nova, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Elton John, and Grizzly Bear. Brooklyn Youth Chorus has developed an active commissioning program and has collaborated with some of the most important composers of our time including Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw, Tania León, Nico Muhly, Angelica Negrón, Bryce Dessner, Paola Prestini, Nathalie Joachim, Toshi Reagon, Alev Lenz, and William Brittelle. Founded in 1992, Brooklyn Youth Chorus has served over 10,000 students over the course of its history, annually serving hundreds of students in its core after-school and public-school outreach programs.
Visit https://www.portalbyc.com/team to learn more about the creative team for Port(al).
Dianne Berkun Menaker, Founder and Artistic Director
Music by Paola Prestini and Jad Abumrad
Libretto by Jad Abumrad and Jessica Grindstaff
Directed and Designed by Jessica Grindstaf
Co-Created by Dianne Berkun Menaker, Paola Prestini, Jad Abumrad and Jessica Grindstaff
Conceived by Dianne Berkun Menaker
Commissioned by Brooklyn Youth Chorus in association with VisionIntoArt
Co-Produced by Brooklyn Youth Chorus, VisionIntoArt, and Pomegranate Arts
Brooklyn Youth Chorus gratefully acknowledges the lead donors of Port(al), without whom this project would not be possible.
This project is made possible with the generous support of
CHARLES J. AND IRENE F. HAMM
THE DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL FOUNDATION
MARC AGGER OF THE AGGER FISH BUILDING
THE ARTHUR F. AND ALICE E. ADAMS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
GARYGRAHAM422
The commissioning of Port(al) was made possible with major support from The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Youth and Contemporary Music Initiative.
The premiere of Port(al) is dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the passage of the NYC landmarks law, the legislation that created the Landmarks Preservation commission and established the preservation law in New York City.
Additional Support Provided By:
Jacqueline and Joseph Aguanno
Henry and Karoly Gutman – In Memory of Grace and Bill Gutman
Special thanks to 5Ohm, Duggal Visual Solutions, PRG, Brian Floody and the Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra, Skidmore College Theater Department.
Port(al) was developed with the support of a residency at PS21 : Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, NY.
From January 27 to February 2, 2025, PS21 welcomed the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the creators of PORT(AL) to PS21 to develop this new production before its premiere in Spring 2025 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. See more about the residency here.
