Yale School of Music and New Haven Schools Strike Up a New Band
The new All-City Band — a collaborative venture of Yale School of Music and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) — will make its debut performance on Tuesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. in Sprague Hall, 470 College St.
The new band is one of several projects to grow out of Yale’s Music in Schools Initiative, a multifaceted program underwritten by the Yale College Class of 1957 to improve the teaching of arts in public schools. This season the Music in Schools Initiative will also include a performance by the Yale/NHPS Honors Chorus, on Tuesday, May 17, and the Fourth Annual Yale/New Haven Young Artists Solo Competitions, May 24-26.
The Yale/NHPS All-City Band will perform four pieces by Thomas C. Duffy, in addition to arrangements of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, among others. The ensemble is composed of 35 students selected from eight New Haven schools. Duffy, the director of bands at Yale University, is the music director of the new group. Students from the Yale School of Music teach and perform with the ensemble.
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The Music in Schools Initiative
Now in its second year, the Yale/NHPS Honors Chorus will present its annual performance on May 17 at 7 p.m., also in Sprague Hall. The chorus consists of 31 students in grades 6-9 from 12 New Haven Public Schools. Members of the chorus all have to audition to be accepted into the singing group. The Honors Chorus, directed by Jonathan Berryman (the choral director at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School), is a collaborative effort between the Yale Glee Club, the Yale School of Music, Music in Schools Initiative, and the New Haven Public Schools.
This year, the Yale/New Haven Young Artists Solo Competition will expand into three divisions, organized by grade level. The competition for Grades 4-6 will take place on May 24; the event for Grades 7 and 8 will be on May 25; and students in grades 9-12 will compete on May 26. All three divisions take place in Sprague Hall and begin at 5 pm. Three prizes — $200, $150, and $100 — will be awarded each day.
All these events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://musicians.yale.edu/musicinschools or call the Yale School of Music concert office at 203 432-4158.
The Yale College Class of 1957 gave its 50th reunion class gift to the Yale School of Music to improve the quality of public education in America. These alumni understand the value of music and arts education in developing creativity, discipline, and focus in young students from all backgrounds. The endowment identifies three responsibilities for the School of Music: (1) To provide programs in New Haven public schools that complement the work of full-time music teachers; (2) To host a biennial symposium for public school teachers from throughout the United States; (3) To host visiting professors to work in music education and train both School of Music students and New Haven public school teachers.
The School of Music has followed these principles through major programs at three schools in New Haven, and through a variety of activities in 25 additional schools throughout the New Haven school district. The number of schools involved will surpass 30 by the end of the spring semester, with over 500 New Haven students participating. The School of Music also offers its programs to other districts in Connecticut. Currently, these programs reach approximately 1,000 students outside of New Haven.
This year’s symposium will take place on the Yale campus June 8-10. The symposium will feature a keynote address by education journalist John Merrow and a workshop with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on the value of music education.
For more information on this year’s biannual celebration of music education, visit http://music.yale.edu/news/?p=4937.
Media Contact
Dorie Baker: dorie.baker@yale.edu, 203-432-1345