An internationally renowned opera star and a retired Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher will headline the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus’ first gala-style fundraiser in June.
Marianne Cornetti, a Winfield native who is one of the leading Verdi mezzo-sopranos of her generation, and Steven Brault, a multitalented vocalist and former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher-turned baseball analyst, will headline A Million Dreams.
Proceeds from the event will support the youth chorus’ scholarship and tuition fund.
It will be held June 18 at Greystone Fields in West Deer.
It will include cocktails, dinner, musical performances and an auction. Tickets — $125 per person or $900 per eight-person table — are available online until June 4.
The Pittsburgh Youth Chorus recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. It includes choirs for singers from first graders to high school seniors. It uses artistic collaborations with professional musicians and organizations, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Opera.
It offers discounted membership based on household income every year to children from families who demonstrate the need for financial help, with annual scholarships totaling upward of $50,000.
“Singing in a choir has been shown to make us happier and healthier throughout life,” said Lee Saville-Iksic, executive artistic director. “People are more likely to sing later in life if they’ve had meaningful experiences with choral music as young people, which is why Pittsburgh Youth Chorus strives to make our programming accessible to as many families as possible.”
In addition to solo and duet performances by Cornetti and Brault, the evening will feature performances from the Hot Metal Vocal Quartet, a student string quartet, as well as past and current members of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus.
Cornetti earned a degree in music from Duquesne University. She went on to participate in the Pittsburgh Opera’s young artists program. She currently is artistic director of Pittsburgh Festival Opera and on the voice faculty at Carnegie Mellon University.
“Being part of this wonderful evening warms my heart because there are future singers being formed in PYC at this very moment,” Cornetti said. “The relationships that were born through my choir experiences and have maintained as lifelong friendships are too many to count. There is nothing better than the sound of a full choir that I am singing with on stage or hearing as an audience member.”
Brault, from La Mesa, Calif., is a former baseball pitcher and outfielder. With a passion for singing, he pursued both baseball and vocal performance at Regis University. He joined the Pirates organization in 2015 and pitched for Pittsburgh from 2016 to 2021. He announced his retirement in November 2023 and now is an analyst on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
In addition to performing the national anthem at major and minor league games, in 2020 Brault released a full-length album, “A Pitch at Broadway,” featuring songs from Broadway musicals.
“My life changed forever when I found theater as a child,” Brault said. “It gave me a way to express my creativity, to put myself in uncomfortable situations and grow through the feeling of achievement through performance.
“I am greatly humbled and so excited to be a part of A Million Dreams, and I can’t wait to perform with Pittsburgh Youth Chorus.”