Give In-School Music Education to NYC Youth

2022-2023: A YEAR OF MUSIC AND CELEBRATION
This year was marked by a series of special public performances, community celebrations, career development opportunities for students, and citywide recognition for our innovation and impact.

PERFORMING AT THE ICONIC APOLLO THEATER
On December 1, 2022, ETM partner students gave a special performance at the Apollo Theater. The Ralph Bunche choir from partner school P.S. 125 in Harlem was invited by Mastercard to perform at the exclusive Netflix film screening of Descendant, a documentary that follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story. Introduced by NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, the choir opened the evening with a powerful and moving rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to the audience of educators and community members, and received an overwhelming standing ovation.

The students' performance and voices were featured on NBC New York’s “Positively Black,” a weekly series that highlights health and education issues, and social and cultural programs in the Black community.

BRINGING HOLIDAY CHEER TO YOUTUBE
This winter, students from ETM partner school C.S. 55 in the Bronx were invited to the YouTube offices in Manhattan to give a memorable holiday performance.

Led by incredible ETM Teacher Arielle Lewis, the students brought so much joy to the space through their songs and ukuleles.

The students even received a surprise visit from artist Lola Brooke, who shared with them her experiences building a successful career in the music industry. A 4^th grade student shared that it was the “very, very best field trip hands down!”


SINGING AT THE TOP OF NEW YORK CITY
Students from ETM partner school M.S. 180 in the Bronx were invited by The Durst Organization to perform a special holiday concert in the Sky Lobby of One World Trade Center.

The audience was overwhelmed by the skill and achievement of the talented middle school choir as they brought holiday cheer to the space through a medley of traditional and contemporary songs.

CAREER DAY AT WARNER MUSIC GROUP
High school students from partner school The Laboratory School of Finance & Technology in the Bronx participated in a special Career Day at the headquarters of Warner Music Group.

The immersive day began with the students delighting Warner staff with a bucket drumming performance, a beautiful duet, and pieces performed by the group’s instrumental ensemble.

An engaging series of panel discussions with Warner senior leaders and representatives followed, providing students with the opportunity to gain knowledge about various aspects of the music industry and career tracks that may be of interest to them.
 

ETM RECEIVES COVETED NYC IMAGINE AWARD
This year, ETM was honored to be the recipient of the Arts & Culture Award at the 2^nd Annual NYC Imagine Awards.

With nearly 250 applications submitted for consideration in five categories, ETM was selected because of its significant impact on underserved students in under-resourced schools across New York City through its innovative programming.

Board members Waleed Diab and Manoj Susarla and CEO Janice Weinman accepted the award.

In classrooms and school auditoriums across New York City, students welcomed the New Year with tremendous joy and gratitude. Here are some highlights showing the impact ETM is making on the lives of students, our partner schools, and the communities in which they are located.

ETM is proud to report that we added over two dozen new schools to our New York School Partnership Program, including P.S. 958, an inclusive school in Sunset Park that serves 70 special needs students. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring to these students the power of music education.

In February, ETM Teacher Nune Melikyan led wonderful school-wide concerts at P.S. 340 in the Bronx in celebration of Black History Month. Elementary students in kindergarten through 5^th grade delighted their school community with beautiful renditions of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” “This Time in Africa,” “Stand by Me,” and more.

Also in February, high school students from ETM partner school The Laboratory School of Finance & Technology participated in a special Career Day at the headquarters of Warner Music Group. The immersive day began with the students delighting Warner staff with a bucket drumming performance, a beautiful duet, and pieces performed by the group’s instrumental ensemble. An engaging series of panel discussions with Warner senior leaders and representatives followed, providing students with the opportunity to gain knowledge about various aspects of the music industry and the associated career tracks that may be of interest to them

Professional development continued in March as our teachers ready for spring concerts. Our team of expert educators and Programs staff guided ETM teachers in deep listening exercises, recommended sight-reading and vocal warm-ups, and a diverse set of choral repertoire for all grade levels. We are excited for our teachers to implement these lessons in their classrooms across NYC as we head into the spring season.

We thank our incredible donors and funders for your support throughout the year and we look forward to sharing more updates soon!

Links:

• ETM CEO Advocates for Arts Education in NYC Schools

Education Through Music is excited to announce that this year we provided comprehensive and sequential music education as a core subject to over 20,000 children weekly, regardless of zip code, economic circumstances, religion, or race. Our program provided ongoing training and professional development for music and classroom teachers, as well as guidance to our partner school principals.

This school year ETM was able to increase from 52 partner schools to 63 and continues to expand and bring back partner schools that were forced to cut arts programs during the pandemic. ETM’s footprint broadened and now extends further into Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, adding 13 new schools this year located in these boroughs. In total, over two dozen new schools were added to our roster, including P.S. 958, an inclusive school in Sunset Park that serves 70 special needs students. This month our children sang proudly in public performances at the Apollo, One World Trade Center, and to their communities in the dozens of winter concerts planned across all NYC boroughs.

In 2023, we plan to take our programs even further, expanding to new schools across the five boroughs of NYC, creating new ensembles, hiring and training new music teachers, and doubling down on support for our current teaching staff.

Links:

• NBC New York Report on ETM Students Performing at the Apollo

Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, Education Through Music’s (ETM) teachers have brought tireless dedication, tenacity, and creativity to their students every day. One of our main goals for the school year has been to increase students’ engagement with non-Western music traditions. Thanks to collaborative efforts at several of our schools, students have been immersed in varying musical traditions – from Persian to Afro-Caribbean, and many others in between.

At PS 306 in the Bronx, students experienced Persian culture with visiting artist Daro Behroozi. Daro shared the cultural rituals around the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, and performed on several Persian instruments, including the sorna, ney, daf, and setar. Following the assemblies, ETM Teacher Ms. Khatami taught units on Iranian music, culminating in wonderful school-wide performances inspired by Daro’s visit.

Middle school students displayed their rhythm skills to a packed auditorium at PS / MS 20 in the Bronx. Facilitated by ETM Teacher Ms. Barton and Brooklyn-born percussionist and educator Olatunji Ojore, students took part in a three-day workshop series to explore percussion rhythms from Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. These lessons culminated in resounding concerts for the entire school.

ETM is proud to have brought musical traditions such as these to the music room through intensive activities like those described above, as well as by providing ongoing, customizable unit plans for our teachers. Popular unit plans have included “Song of the Week,” which sources folk and traditional songs from all worldwide and breaks down their meaning and structure. Cultures highlighted have included: Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw, Bengali, Arabic, Cambodian, and more. Multidisciplinary plans in “Book Themed Units,” have revolved around diverse books, using their topics as a jumping off points to teach everything from syllabic stresses to rhyme and rhythm. Books chosen have included: “Born on the Water,” “Drum Dream Girl,” “Say Zoop!” and more.

We thank our incredible donors and funders for enabling us to bring a variety of musical traditions and cultural perspectives to the music room this school year, and look forward to sharing more updates soon!

Links:

• ETM Executive Director Advocating for Arts Education on NY1

• FY22_ETM_Select_Program_Photos.pdf (PDF)
  

Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, Education Through Music’s (ETM) teachers have brought tireless dedication, tenacity, and creativity to their students every day. One of our main goals for the school year has been to increase students’ engagement with non-Western music traditions. Thanks to collaborative efforts at several of our schools, students have been immersed in varying musical traditions – from Persian to Afro-Caribbean, and many others in between.

At PS 306 in the Bronx, students experienced Persian culture with visiting artist Daro Behroozi. Daro shared the cultural rituals around the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, and performed on several Persian instruments, including the sorna, ney, daf, and setar. Following the assemblies, ETM Teacher Ms. Khatami taught units on Iranian music, culminating in wonderful school-wide performances inspired by Daro’s visit.

Middle school students displayed their rhythm skills to a packed auditorium at PS / MS 20 in the Bronx. Facilitated by ETM Teacher Ms. Barton and Brooklyn-born percussionist and educator Olatunji Ojore, students took part in a three-day workshop series to explore percussion rhythms from Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. These lessons culminated in resounding concerts for the entire school.

ETM is proud to have brought musical traditions such as these to the music room through intensive activities like those described above, as well as by providing ongoing, customizable unit plans for our teachers. Popular unit plans have included “Song of the Week,” which sources folk and traditional songs from all worldwide and breaks down their meaning and structure. Cultures highlighted have included: Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw, Bengali, Arabic, Cambodian, and more. Multidisciplinary plans in “Book Themed Units,” have revolved around diverse books, using their topics as a jumping off points to teach everything from syllabic stresses to rhyme and rhythm. Books chosen have included: “Born on the Water,” “Drum Dream Girl,” “Say Zoop!” and more.

We thank our incredible donors and funders for enabling us to bring a variety of musical traditions and cultural perspectives to the music room this school year, and look forward to sharing more end-of-year updates soon!