A former New York Post Liberty Medal winner is now a real “genius.”
Francisco Nunez, founder of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, was among 22 winners — including four from the Big Apple — named yesterday as recipients of $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius grants.”
Others include Kevin Guskiewicz, a North Carolina scientist studying how to prevent sports-related concussions, and Jeanne Gang, a Chicago architect specializing in green building and sustainable design.
“I was dumbfounded, I actually cried,” Nunez told The Associated Press.
He plans to put the money toward enriching his music program, which serves more than 1,000 youngsters.
Nunez, a Manhattan-born piano child prodigy, founded the choir in 1988 and has made it as culturally diverse as the city itself.
For his great work, he won the Post’s Liberty Ambassador Medal in 2005.
“I feel like I have an opportunity here and a challenge,” said Nunez.
The other New Yorkers who got grants are Jad Abumrad, 38, co-host and producer of the nationally syndicated WNYC program “Radiolab”; Dafnis Prieto, 37, a jazz percussionist and composer; and Alisa Weilerstein, 29, a cellist who performs traditional and contemporary music.