The Young Americans
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| The Young Americans | |
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 Members of The Young Americans performing in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Origin | California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Broadway, Pop, Dance |
| Years active | 1962 – present |
| Website | The Young Americans website |
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group is credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral singing. While experiencing national television exposure early on, The Young Americans now teach music to students in the United States and other parts of the world as advocates of music education in their International Music Outreach Tours. The group is currently comprised of approximately 200 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 from nearly every US state and several other countries.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1960s
The Young Americans first appeared on a Bing Crosby television special in the early 1960s. For the next several years, the group would appear on numerous variety shows, singing and dancing with entertainers such as Julie Andrews, Judy Garland, and Bob Hope.
In 1967, the group was featured in a film, Young Americans, which was awarded a 1968 Academy Award for best documentary. In May of 1969, the film was disqualified because it had premiered in October 1967, and was therefore ineligible for the 1968 award.
[edit] 1970s and 1980s
Throughout the 1970s, The Young Americans began concert tours in the United States and abroad at venues that included Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl. In 1976, the group performed in an outdoor theatre at the foot of the Washington Monument for the United States bicentennial celebration. In the 1980s, the group continued to tour internationally.
[edit] 1990s
The International Music Outreach Tour was established in 1993 with the aim to show the importance of school music programs. During 10-week tours, the group will visit 2 schools per week presenting 3-day performance workshops to 4th-12th grade students. Now touring 7 times per year, the group regularly travels throughout the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, the Ukraine, Japan and Australia.
[edit] 2000s
In addition to teaching on the outreach tours, the group is more recently focusing on the creation of its own college, California Pacific College of the Performing Arts. In the summer months, a cast of Young Americans reside in northern Michigan to host a dinner theatre at Boyne Highlands (a Boyne USA resort) that has been running for over 30 years.
[edit] Successful Alumni
The group has many alumni who have successful careers in film, television and theatre including Vickie Lawrence (Mama's Family), Marc Cherry (Executive Producer & Writer of Desperate Housewives), Stephanie J. Block (Elphaba in Broadway's Wicked), and Melissa Hayden (Daytime Emmy winner of Guiding Light).
