STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- PS 22’s

, which closed out the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony and has been met with praise from the likes of Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey and Carrie Underwood, will be headed to Washington, D.C. in January.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is at the school Monday afternoon, where he's announcing that the chorus will perform at the Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, 2013. The chorus will perform regardless of who's being sworn in as president.



Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, is being joined by Principal Melissa Lamb Donath, choral director Gregg Breinberg, and Chief Operating Officer of the NYC Department of Education, Veronica Conforme.

Located in Graniteville, the chorus garnered acclaim and recognition for their unique interpretations of songs ranging from Christian traditionals to well known pop songs such as The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” and Gotye’s recent smash “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

New York Magazine deemed them “the best known elementary school chorus on the planet.” They drew big Hollywood cheers in 2011 when they performed a version of the Wizard of Oz classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as the finale for the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

More recently, they shared the stage with Gym Class Heroes at this year’s Wagnerstock performance at Wagner College on Grymes Hill in April.

The chorus was named Artist of the Year award at the 14th Annual Webby Awards, which honor outstanding contributions to online media.