News Archive: April 2009
Special Music School’s Play-a-thon is May 3!
It's not too late to sponsor a student!
Face the Music Live on WNYC! 4/30
Face the Music will be playing LIVE on WNYC this Thursday, April 30th, between 7 and 8 PM.
They will be broadcasting live from the Greene Space at WNYC"s new studio on Varick St. Face the Music will be playing Phil Kline's wonderful energetic piece "Exquisite Corpses" for mixed ensemble and tape.
Please tune in (93.9 FM, or online at wnyc.org)!
Annual Scholarship Luncheon
The Rivkin family has been affiliated with Lucy Moses School since 1976, when Oleg Rivkin became the first Russian student to attend the school. He was a full scholarship recipient. Today, Oleg is a successful lawyer, and his four children with wife Cheryl Obedin carry on the family’s musical tradition in their studies with their “aunt” Genya Paley. The Rivkin family was honored at Kaufman Center’s Annual Scholarship Luncheon on March 11, which raised more than $30,000 for the Lucy Moses School Scholarship Fund. The following note from Cheryl Rivkin describes why the Rivkins feel music education is essential to children’s development, and why people should support the Scholarship Fund.
Summer Music Theater Workshop Turns 20!
Lucy Moses School’s Summer Musical Theater Workshop (SMTW) has an important birthday coming up: this June the popular month-long summer “camp” will turn 20. Founded in 1990 and still going strong, the workshop gives kids ages six through 15 a unique opportunity to take part in the creation of a new musical. Working in small groups of children their own age, campers work with a director/writer, a musical director/composer and teenage interns to rehearse new musical plays written especially for them. Five weeks of classes in singing, acting and movement lead up to an exhilarating performance in Merkin Concert Hall that gives every child the chance to be a star.
LMS Celebrates Jazz Program’s 15th Anniversary
Roni’s taken a troop of avid amateurs and molded us into a tight band. He fosters our musicianship and teaches us to listen to each other and draw ideas from what others are playing. And we always swing!
– David Klafter, a longtime student and an organizer of the 15th anniversary concert
What Does it Take to Grow a Musician? 100 Days of Practice
“I’ve done it! I’ve accomplished it!” —SMS 3rd grader
According to legend, Beethoven’s father was a notoriously harsh piano teacher, forcing his young son to practice for hours on end and punishing him for making mistakes. Teaching methods have fortunately evolved over the centuries, but regular practice—with more positive reinforcement!—remains a crucial part of music education. So how do you get kids to practice? On February 2 and 3, 78 young musicians in grades kindergarten through 5 at Kaufman Center’s Special Music School (SMS) celebrated an important milestone: 100 Days of Practice. The kids cheered as their classmates were called to the front of Ann Goodman Recital Hall to receive a bag of treats and a certificate recognizing their achievement.
Perspective on Music Education: Linda Chemtob
For Linda Shapiro Chemtob, music education is essential. Chair of the Special Music School (SMS) Participating Board since the fall of 2007, Chemtob first became familiar with Kaufman Center’s unique public school for musically gifted children during her tenure as Program Director of the Arts for Talented Youth program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. While there, she and Kaufman Center’s Executive Director, Lydia Kontos, both served on the Board of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. “Lydia and I met at a Guild conference and became friendly. After I left Peabody, I missed working with young musicians and when Lydia asked me to join the SMS participating board I readily agreed, although I was not living in New York at the time.” Elected to be a Trustee in 2001, Chemtob commuted to Board meetings until she moved to New York City in 2005.
Freedom and Structure: Teaching Young Children - Piano Conversations with Chaim Freiberg
“I believe that the earliest contact, especially for young children, must be a joyful and vibrant experience that will move them with love and confidence towards the next steps in their musical development.” — Chaim Freiberg
Join Lucy Moses School for a Class Observation Week! May 10-15
From May 10 to 15, LuMo opens its doors for its first class observation week to parents and adults students! We welcome you to invite others to take a look at group classes in music, dance and theater for all ages. Please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 212 501 3360 for more information or to reserve a spot.
LMS Masterclass: Arnold Steinhardt, violin - May 3
Masterclass - Arnold Steinhardt, violin
Sunday, May 3, 2009
3 PM
