(gentle music) - [Anthony] The amount of dedication it takes to be in DYC is on the same level as a high school athlete.

- I don't really think it clicked until they showed up to my door.

- Yeah.

- They were like "Dingdong."

And I was like, "Okay, this is getting real."

- It all does take work, but if I keep going, I'm going to reach my mark.

- I think it actually clicked when I went to Disney+ and I saw it, the poster and everything and the trailer being there and the description.

I was like, "What?

This is kind of weird."

But this is something that is honestly like a really, really good thing for DYC.

- Detroit Youth Choir ranges in age eight to 18.

We are a nonprofit organization and now we have a docuseries airing on Disney+, January 31st, 2024, and we are so elated.

We know that a lot of good things is gonna come out of the docuseries.

- It takes many performers a lifetime to make it to Carnegie Hall.

So consider yourselves among the elites.

- You're gonna see an honest look into the lives of some great Detroit kids, how we're resilient, how they never give up, havin' to make decisions on the spot, workin' through loss, pain, heartache, triumph to create something beautiful.

And that's something I love about the arts.

We take our real life, human experiences, everyday experiences, and they fuel us to give a great show.

- How the documentary came into fruition, they reached out to me.

Maniac Productions along with Blumhouse Productions, they reached out to me during Covid and they came out and they did some shooting.

They did some interviews and they honed in on some of our young people and, next thing you know, Disney was on a Zoom call and they showed their interest and I was so happy.

I'm like, "Disney liked what we're doing?"

And they went on ahead and signed us up and it not only helped our organization grow, I believe it's helpin' the city of Detroit as well.

- People from outside of the city, I hope that they can see that a lot of good things, including the choir, can come from it and I hope that people inside the city who, whether they're fans or not, they would've seen our performances.

They only see our performances.

So they're gonna see our rehearsals, how dedicated we are, how driven we are, how hard we actually work to get to where we are.

- [Anthony] Here we go!

♪ Hey, congratulations ♪ You're the greatest - The docuseries follows DYC going to Carnegie Hall for a choral experience and that we were gonna have our own set before we did our choral music.

I think, though the show focuses on us preparing for Carnegie, I think that it also shows the love and support and the teamwork that DYC puts in each and every student.

- A lot of people didn't really expect for a youth choir from Detroit to be on a stage like that.

You could just see the drive and the passion that we all had because people didn't believe that we were supposed to belong there.

So the show really focuses in on us preparing to prove people wrong.

- With the director, Rudy Valdez, he came in like he was my brother and he opened up his arms to us and we just fell right in and he made sure that we felt like it was natural.

Everything was natural.

- They caught us in the moment, on-spot teaching.

They were just like...

They would come in, get us hooked up and say, "Go for it.

Do exactly what it is that you do."

And I think that was, for me, that was the most beautiful part because it wasn't scripted.

So the cryin' that you see, it's the real thing.

The yelling, the tears, even arguments, the heated moments, they're a real thing and it's all part of this beautiful process because we're human, so we're not perfect.

So you're gonna see imperfections, but you're gonna also see redemption, comeback, and it's gonna be a beautiful thing.

- We want to be that choir that changes lives again and again.

Detroit is just about hard workers.

That's what Detroit Youth Choir is made of.

We are a blue collar town.

Our kids don't know the meaning of quit.

And do we have perfect, perfect young people?

Absolutely not.

We have young people that's trying to obtain the status of being a better person.

We have young people that's growin'.

We have young people that came from a damaged place and then coming into our space and trying to get better.

It's all about prioritizing and I believe the Detroit Youth Choir is a top priority in some of these young people lives.

♪ I'm not scared be seen ♪ I make no apologies ♪ This is me ♪ Oh, oh, oh - One of our instructors, Daniel, he said, "You know, things may get hard, but it's always best to know how to do hard things well."

And I think that's what Carnegie was for us.

We handled those hard things well because we kept a straightforward mindset.

♪ I won't let them break me down to this ♪ ♪ I know that there's a way for us ♪ - They do it from the heart and so they say that what's from the heart will reach the heart and so I think each and every time that you in a rehearsal or on stage, it is a heartfelt, honest performance and I think that is what moves other people.

It is being honest and intentional about taking the moment, finding where I can identify with the song and performin' from that place and if you can get to that part, an honest, true part from you and perform from that place, then it doesn't matter whether you're singin' Beethoven or Jonathan McReynolds, or Mississippi Mass Choir, it will always touch people because there's something unique about the arts that speaks to the human experiences.

♪ Glory - I'm glad that the world gets to see DYC.

- They're going to see a youth choir that's made of ambassadors for the city of Detroit.

They're also going to see a beautiful city.

I mean our city is such a beautiful place to manifest and the Detroit Youth Choir is part of that manifestation of quality here in the city of Detroit and I believe that the world is gonna know that Detroit is back on the map.

♪ So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us ♪