The Young Americans Brings Positivity and Hope to Audiences Worldwide
With more than two decades of experience as a choral director and musical theater director in California’s school system, Anthony “Tony” Atienza has overseen numerous school musical productions. An award-winning educator, he is also an accomplished leader of community theater programs for young people, and has directed classic shows such as Les Miserables, Grease, and The Music Man. At the beginning of his own career, Tony Atienza was a performer with The Young Americans, a Southern California nonprofit organization that uses the performing arts to build human connections and understanding around the world.
The Young Americans was established in 1962 as a project led by Milton C. Anderson, a Hollywood-based music director working in network television. Anderson, who died at age 90 in 2017, led Young Americans choir groups well into his 80s.
The Young Americans has become known as the world’s first-ever “show choir.” It has worked to take the goodness and richness of American culture and ideals, as exemplified in its student singers and dancers, to people all over the world through its International Music Outreach Tours and other programs. In 1968, a documentary film on the Young Americans earned an Academy Award.
The nonpartisan, nonpolitical group prides itself on the fact that the diversity of political and religious opinions of its individual performers mirrors that of the country as a whole. Students earn their places in the group through demonstrating talent, respect for others, and a desire to be of service through their performances and their actions.
The Young Americans was established in 1962 as a project led by Milton C. Anderson, a Hollywood-based music director working in network television. Anderson, who died at age 90 in 2017, led Young Americans choir groups well into his 80s.
The Young Americans has become known as the world’s first-ever “show choir.” It has worked to take the goodness and richness of American culture and ideals, as exemplified in its student singers and dancers, to people all over the world through its International Music Outreach Tours and other programs. In 1968, a documentary film on the Young Americans earned an Academy Award.
The nonpartisan, nonpolitical group prides itself on the fact that the diversity of political and religious opinions of its individual performers mirrors that of the country as a whole. Students earn their places in the group through demonstrating talent, respect for others, and a desire to be of service through their performances and their actions.
