“Francisco J. Núñez,” wrote the New York Times in 2007, “has been raising the bar for children’s music over the last decade.” As founder and artistic director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, he has been recognized as a trailblazer in music education - one of a rare few to have elevated the youth chorus to the ranks of serious contemporary music. Mr. Núñez founded the chorus in 1988 with two goals in mind - artistic excellence and diversity. 

Over the last two decades, he has pursued this vision relentlessly, by commissioning and performing some the most innovative and challenging works for youth choirs from today’s most eminent composers, and by reaching out to New York City youth of every possible ethnic, social, and economic background so they could find a safe haven for personal and artistic growth. Today, with over 1,000 young people in five after-school choruses and 13 choruses in its Satellite School Program in inner-city public schools, YPC is widely recognized for its exceptional caliber, and has been cited as “a model for artistic excellence and diversity” by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

As a composer and conductor, Mr. Núñez has earned world-wide acclaim for seamlessly fusing a wide gamut of Latin cultures and musical idioms. His works for chorus, orchestra and solo instruments have attracted leading soloists and ensembles, including pianist Hu Hwang, who premiered his piano suite Musings at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, and the Bialystok State Orchestra, which premiered his Three Dominican Folk Songs at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Jonathan Griffith. An editor at Boosey & Hawkes, Chester Novello, and G. Schirmer publishing companies, he has also led the University Glee Club of New York City since 2000, the fifth conductor in its 115-year history. A recipient of the Young Virtuoso International grant, he wrote his first piano work, Misa Pequeña, at age 15, and has received numerous commissions from a wide range of sources including Disneyworld, the Phoenix Boy’s Choir, the Austin ProChorus, the Oklahoma All-State Chorus, and the Ithaca College Women’s Chorale, who recently recorded all of Mr. Nunez’s choral works.

In 2001, he embarked on a ground-breaking annual concert series at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The Transient Glory concerts are aired on public radio, and premiere newly commissioned works by some of the world’s leading composers including John Tavener, Michael Torke, Steven Mackey, Michael Nyman, David Del Tredici, Dominick Argento, among others. This unique concept has set the stage for new works to be adopted by leading youth ensembles worldwide, through publication with Boosey & Hawkes and recordings on Vital Records. In 2008, he further extended the Transient Glory concept with Radio Radiance, a new music radio program with WNYC New York Public Radio and American Public Media. Its aim: to attract and develop new audiences for new music by commissioning and performing cutting-edge choral work specifically written for radio, digital media, and the internet.

A member of the Board of Directors of Chorus America, he is active as a guest conductor and master teacher for choral workshops, festivals and national conferences nationwide. Each summer he acts as composer-in-residence and artist teacher with Janet Galvan at Ithaca College and for Doreen Rao’s Choral Music Experience Institute at leading universities throughout the country. For eight years he was Director of Music for the Children’s Aid Society in New York City, and has also served as artistic advisor to the General Consulate of the Dominican Republic to America, Director of Choral Activities at Ramapo College in New Jersey, and for two years conducted the National Young People’s Chorus at Carnegie Hall sponsored by Mid-America Productions. He conducted the first annual All-City Public School Teacher Honor Chorus, which included over 1000 teachers citywide accompanied by members of the New York Philharmonic and sponsored by the NYC Board of Education, a program that YPC continues to organize today. He also serves as an advisor for other youth choirs throughout the country hoping to use YPC as a model for musical excellence and diversity, one of which is a new YPC affiliate, the Young People’s Chorus of Erie, an outreach program of Penn State.

For his exemplary work with young people, Mr. Núñez has received the 2009 ASCAP Concert Music Award and the 2009 New York Choral Society's Choral Excellence Award, which cited his “commitment to music education, the enrichment of the choral repertory, and his dedication to musical excellence.” He also received the Child Champion Award from Child magazine, a Liberty Award from the New York Post, and a Luminary Award from Casita Maria. Citing his influence in changing public agenda, Hispanic Business magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics of 2005. GMC’s advertising campaign hailed him as an unsung Hispanic hero doing exemplary work in his community, while La Sociedad Coral Latinoamericana recently honored him as 2009 Man of the Year.