 The 7th Avenue Hub
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REGISTER FOR
FALL SEMESTER
Be inspired! Join us for engaging classes for all ages. Register now or speak with a Registrar at 718.622.3300.
EVENTS
Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open presents WORKS with special guests Dave Liebman and Scott Colley
Sat, May 19 at 8:00 pm
Conservatory Concert Hall
$10
As part of Chamber Music Month in May, the Conservatory presents this concert highlighting new music with dialogues that allow the audience to interact with the musicians. Share their experience and musical process! WORKS also includes Dave Liebman on saxophones, Scott Colley on bass, Michel Gentile on flute, Daniel Kelly on piano, and Rob Garcia on drums.
Spring Suzuki Solo Recitals
Sun, May 20
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Berkeley-Carroll
181 Lincoln Place
Free admission
Students from our Suzuki Division perform solos in their bi-annual recital event.
BCM Showcase at the Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair
Sun, May 20
12:30 to 4:30 pm
North Stage
Fifth Avenue at Sterling Pl.
Free admission
BCM faculty members perform: singer-songwriters with back-up band plus our Registrar's rock band!
BCM Professional Division Jazz Concert
Sun, May 20 at 3:00 pm
Conservatory Concert Hall
Free admission
The spring recital of the BCM Professional Jazz students features vocal students, jazz ensembles and instructors from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Beethoven: Michael Rose Piano Solo Recital
Wednesday, May 23 at 8:00 pm
Conservatory Concert Hall
$15 general admission, $10 students/seniors
Michael Rose will perform Beethoven's monumental late piano sonata Hammerklavier, along with a set of seldom-performed shorter works, Bagatelles Op. 126.
CONTACT: enewsletter@bqcm.org
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From the Executive Director, Karen Geer
Welcome to the 7th Avenue Hub - your resource for the latest news in the arts, music, education, and our Brooklyn community. This issue highlights The Brooklyn Children's Museum Gala, the Brooklyn Museum's exhibit, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce's new President, Congregation Beth Elohim's installation, plus concerts, resources, recommendations, and tips. Always lots going on in and around the Conservatory! |
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Conservatory News
Chorale Celebrates the Glory of Venice
On Saturday, May 19, at 8:00 pm, the Metro Chamber Orchestra brings its ninth season to a close. The beautiful sanctuary of St Ann and the Holy Trinity at 157 Montague Street in Brooklyn is the backdrop for a program dedicated to the city of Venice. The Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale, led by Nelly Vuksic, joins Maestro Philip Nuzzo's Metro Chamber Orchestra with Vivaldi's transcendent "Gloria," considered the finest Baroque setting of this text. Joining the MCO and the Chorale will be mezzo soprano Melissa Block as soloist. The Metro Chamber Orchestra
Jazz and Peter Brainin: Front Page News!
Our very own esteemed faculty member, sax player Peter Brainin, graced the cover of the NY Times on April 30. The article was about Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, designating jazz a "universal music of freedom and creativity" and decreed that every April 30 is to be celebrated around the world as International Jazz Day. Showing jazz's global reach, major players performed at the UN, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stevie Wonder, Wynton Marsalis, the aforementioned Peter Brainin, and other jazz artists from all over the world. Keyboard player George Duke said, "Jazz at its best ... breaks down barriers and connects people." (Photo: Karsten Moran/NY Times) NY Times article
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Community News
Neighborhood Institution Celebrates Kids
On May 8, the Brooklyn Children's Museum held their Gala - themed "Healthy Communities=Healthy Children." The first museum created expressly for children when it was founded in 1899, it was recently expanded with all-new exhibits and all-new programs. And our own Brooklyn Conservatory Jazz Quintet provided the event's musical performance. Brooklyn Children's Museum
 CBE's Community Open House
On Sunday, May 6, community was certainly celebrated as Congregation Beth Elohim unveiled "Jacob's Ladder by BanG," a new installation (and musical instrument) in their Sanctuary by architects Babak Bryan and Henry Grosman. There were musical performances by Brooklyn's finest ensembles, including the Conservatory's Renee Manning Jazz Quintet. Congratulations to our neighbor!
Also, Congregation Beth Elohim is a finalist in the American Express Partners in Preservation program with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to win up to $250,000 to restore their beautiful stained glass windows in the Main Sanctuary. Vote for CBE
 Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce's New President
Carlo A. Scissura, known to Brooklynites as BP Marty Markowitz's Chief of Staff, is the new President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce: "... the time is now for the Chamber to lead Brooklyn as it continues its spectacular rise into a true global city and an international brand." He added, "We are going to excite the Chamber, make it rock and roll and as Brooklyn is growing, the Chamber is going to be at the top of the helm. We are really going to take the Chamber to places where it should have been and where it will be." The Conservatory community welcomes you!
 The World at the Brooklyn Museum
"Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn" is the new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. A long-term installation in the Great Hall, it features an eclectic sampling from its collection. The pieces represent peoples throughout time and are built around three broad themes: people, places and things. Works include Gaston Lachaise's monumental Standing Woman, Nick Cave's Soundsuit (photo: Marilynn K. Yee/The NY Times), and kero cups used in Andean ritual. Holland Carter, in his NY Times Art Review, summarizes, "The ultimate goal of the Brooklyn installation is to encourage you to play with art, with meanings and values and cultural interconnections ... to be at home in a large world." NY Times article and Brooklyn Museum
 Brownstone Jazz Series
The weekly Brownstone Jazz concerts which began in August 2010 are intimate affairs that recall a time when Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant house parties turned into all-night jams. Owner Debbie McClain, noting that brownstone parlors were sometimes used as ballrooms in bygone days said, "We look to continue an old trend." The series has drawn headliners including saxophonist and Blue Note recording artist James Spaulding, trombonist and euphonist Kiane Zawadi, and singer Boncella Lewis. NY Times article
 Turnaround Arts
President Obama introduced the Turnaround Arts initiative, a public-private partnership designed to help turnaround some of the nation's lowest performing schools through comprehensive and integrated arts education. Each school is provided with the arts education services, resources, and materials to make a successful turnaround, improve academic performance, and increase student engagement. Turnaround Arts |
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We Recommend
 Chamber Music Magazine
As this is Chamber Music Month in May and the Conservatory is presenting a series of concerts during the month to celebrate (see EVENTS), it is only fitting to mention this singular magazine. It is the only national magazine dedicated to the art and business of small ensemble music and is essential reading for everyone in the chamber music community. Also, it is a benefit of Chamber Music America membership. Learn more.
What It Is: The Life of a Jazz Artist
Sax player and 2011 NEA Jazz Master, Dave Liebman, is a multi-faceted artist. This autobiography was culled from interviews by jazz journalist and pianist Dr. Lewis Porter. Ken Dryden, in the May issue of the NYC Jazz Record, calls it "... compelling reading for educators, musicians and fans. Liebman is open about nearly every facet of his life, from the lifelong effects of polio in one leg and relationships with fellow musicians to his transformation from sideman into a leader and jazz educator." Dave Liebman performs at the Conservatory on May 19 with WORKS. See EVENTS. NYC Jazz Record
 Louis Armstrong: A Musical Treasure
"I picked up my horn and blew. A note is a note in any language. Music is the international language!" Two months before he died in 1971, jazz legend Louis Armstrong gave his last performance at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. He was in failing health but he went on stage and now that lost recording has just been released. Wynton Marsalis notes, "... every time he breathed a note, he could uplift our spirits." "What a Wonderful World." (photo: CBS News) |
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Resource Center
 Music Matters: How Music Education Helps Students Learn, Achieve and Succeed
This bulletin from the Arts Education Partnership documents student learning outcomes associated with music education. It shows conclusively that music education equips students to learn; it facilitates student academic achievement; and it develops the creative capacities for lifelong success. ($2.95 per copy) Purchase |
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Teacher Tip
If you are not able to practice your instrument because of volume concerns, do everything except play: set up your chair and your music and then run through your music by only moving your fingers. It's a proven way to keep your skills up if you can't actually practice.
- Karen Geer, Executive Director and music educator |
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Pete's Program Pick
Children's World Drumming
Travel the globe without leaving Brooklyn! This class will take your child, ages 6-10, around the world to explore the rhythms and traditions of many exciting cultures, and will provide the fun and visceral experience of being a part of a group of percussionists playing in sync. bqcm.org
-Pete Robbins, Dean of Programs |
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Music Partner Highlights
The Buzuk is the Star at PS 321
On May 2, PS 321 here in Park Slope hosted their popular "Around the World in 80 Minutes" program. Tareq Abboushi, a Palestinian-born musician and a former faculty member, introduced the buzuk. A long-necked fretted lute, the buzuk is an essential instrument in the Rahbani repertoire and is associated with the folk music of Lebanon and Syria. It can produce the microtonal intervals used in maqamat (musical modes). With two courses of metal strings which are played with a plectrum, it offers a metallic yet lyrical resonance. Tareq plays the buzuk in his Middle Eastern/Jazz fusion quintet, Shushmo.
Helen Keller Pre-School
Michel Gentile has been teaching at the Helen Keller Pre-School for the Blind for over ten years. "Three years ago I started working with Benjamin, who is confined to a wheelchair and is severely impaired. At first, he did not communicate or respond to his surroundings. When taken for testing, a colleague started singing one of our songs and readings of his brain waves went crazy. It was suggested that music agitated him and perhaps we should stop working together. I did not agree. Then he started reacting to a certain song. He squealed and kicked with joy every time I sang it. He got excited when I walked into the room in anticipation of the music to come. It turns out that not only is Benjamin aware of his surroundings but he has very clear musical tastes. He is now in grade school and is still singing strong. I feel lucky to have worked with him and witness the power of music."
-Dorothy Savitch, Director of Music Partners Program |
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Music Therapy Corner
Nada Yoga
Music has long been associated with healing and wellness across many cultures. Music Therapist and Fulbright Scholar, Eric Fraser, offers a hidden treasure in the great path of yoga: Nada Yoga and Indian Music Workshop. Nada Yoga, the yoga of sound, uses sound, music, voice, breath, and rhythm with Indian classical music and ragas (sacred scales). While meditating on the tones in different ragas amazing transformations can happen! Feel peaceful and relaxed as the sound of the live bansuri flute envelopes us in raga. bqcm.org |
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Make a Gift to the Conservatory
If you'd like to make a donation to help support BCM's commitment to community arts education, click here, or send a check to BCM at 58 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217. Contributions to BCM, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, are 100% tax deductible.
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Programs at the Conservatory are supported by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Achelis Foundation, ACMP-The Chamber Music Network, Amy Bloch/Gregory Horowitz Fund, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Bacardi USA, Bank of America, Barclays/Nets Community Alliance, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Brown Rudnick, CMS, ConEdison, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/Chamber Music America, Fund for the City of New York/Open Society Foundations' Performing Arts Recovery Initiative, Hearst Foundations, Hyde and Watson Foundation, Houlihan Lokey, Johnson String Instrument, Joseph LeRoy and Ann C. Warner Fund, Kennedy Jennik and Murray P.C., Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, Meyer Creativity Associates, The Milton and Beatrice Wind Foundation, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Global Impact Funding Trust, National Guild for Community Arts Education/MetLife Foundation, Neighborhood Improvement Association, Newman's Own Foundation, NPower's Community Corps Program, OppenheimerFunds Legacy Program, Park Slope 5th Avenue BID, Park Slope Civic Council, Sam Ash Music, RDI Solutions, The Rudin Foundation, Swiss Post Solutions, Taproot Foundation, Terra CRG, Wells Fargo Bank, and Youth, I.N.C., as well as numerous individual donors. Programs at the Conservatory are also supported in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, The Offices of New York City Council Members Mathieu Eugene, Vincent Gentile, Brad Lander and Stephen Levin, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Copyright © 2012 Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, All rights reserved.
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