The 7th Avenue Hub 
Like us on FacebookFind us on YelpFollow us on Twitter        June 15, 2012


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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 Conservatory Chorale - La Belle France!

Friday, June 15 at 8:00 PM, St. Johns Episcopal Church; Sunday, June 17 at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church at 3:00 PM

Nelly Vuksic, Conductor & Music Director 
Cesar Vuksic, Piano 
Works by composers including: Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Durufl�, Maurice Ravel and Lili Boulanger 
Tickets: $15, $10 students and seniors 
Tickets may be purchased in advance by clicking here. 

 

Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra

Saturday, June 16 at 8:00 PM, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church

Tickets: $15, $10 students and seniors.

Conducted by music director, Dorothy Savitch, the performance will feature Tchaikovsky's Symphony #6, "Pathetique," and Copland's "Billy the Kid" Suite 

Tickets may be purchased in advance by clicking here.

Music Therapy Open House
Thursday, June 28 at 4:30 PM, Conservatory Concert Hall, FREE

Learn more about our Music Therapy program through a meet-and-greet with our certified Music Therapists.

Extreme Kids and Crew will be there with sensory gym equipment - come and play! Rainbow Resonance's Sofia Parashevawill be there to give children an experience of setting their movements to visual art and sound. Refreshments served.

 

 

 

VISIT:

bqcm.org

 

CALL:

718.622.3300 

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 marks the end of another great semester at the Conservatory. We have so many people to thank - ourprestigious faculty, wonderful staffamazing students, parents, concert-goers, and our generous donors and institutional funders. We would also like to thank our Board of Trustees: Michael Schwartz, Chairman; George Badecker, Vice-Chairman; Andrea Knutson, Treasurer; Matthew Tye, Secretary; Monte Bailey, Brian Cogan, Mauricio del Valle, Jerri Sines Mayer, Steven Glass and Phyllis White Thorne. Their support has been invaluable. 

 

Below you'll find information about our final concerts, awards, community news,  and a few highlights from our different program divisions. Please remember to stay in touch with the Conservatory this summer, either through classes, concerts, or a friendly visit. We'd love to see you as we begin another event-packed summer season!

Conservatory News

Celebrate Spring with our Orchestra and Chorale!

Join us this weekend as we wrap up our spring semester with a fantastic series of concerts from our Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale, and our Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra. The fun begins Friday, June 15 at 8 PM at St. John's Church, as the Chorale gives the first of two performances of La Belle France! The concert, which will have a second showing on Sunday at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, will feature works by such famous French composers as Claude Debussy and Lili Boulanger. These wonderful nights of music are made possible with support from The Milton and Beatrice Wind Foundation, and will be hosted by lovely husband and wife duo of conductor Nelly and pianist Cesar Vuksic. Saturday at 8 PM at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church is the Community Orchestra's concert, hosted by Music Director of the Orchestra and Director of our Music Partners program, Dorothy Savitch. The concert will feature Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony #6, "Pathetique," as well as Eric Copeland's "Billy the Kid," and is funded by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. For details, see the "Events" section to the left, or check out our website.

 

End of Semester Assessments 

Students in our Private Lessons Program showed off their skills as they took their final assessments last weekend. Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto have pioneered The Achievement Program, which standardizes private music instruction and provides assessments for students of all levels and instruments. As a music education initiative that is barely a year old in the United States, the Conservatory is very proud to be one of its Founding Schools. The assessments were conducted by Chris Foley, a multi-talented faculty member of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. For more information on the Achievement Program, visit their website here.

 

Remembering Vinnie Johnson (1937-2012)

Last week, the Conservatory said goodbye to one of our dear friends, drummer Vinnie Johnson (left). Talented and hard-working, Vinnie dedicated over 30 years of his life to teaching and performing with the Conservatory. "He was such a sweet, mentoring type of guy," says Ren�e Manning, Chair of the Conservatory's Vocal Department and longtime friend of Johnson. " Manning and Johnson played together as working musicians in Manhattan, and were brought in as teachers and performers for the Conservatory in the late 1970's. Throughout his career, Johnson played with such names as Lena Horne, Lester Bowie and Big Mama Thornton. He is survived by three children and several grandchildren. The Conservatory will hold a memorial event in celebration of the life and work of a friend who will be truly missed. Watch of video of him playing in Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy in 1996.

Community News 

Experimental Programs Breathe New Life into Brooklyn Philharmonic

Audiences were amazed last Saturday as Brooklyn-born rapper, Yassiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), rhymed a few verses over the Allegro section of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. The spectacle was one of many during a concert that featured such genre-bending acts, including a remix of Beethoven's Third Symphony, entitled "Ill Harmonic." The atmosphere of the concert was no coincidence. It was the product of a new initiative on the part of the Brooklyn Philharmonic to keep up with the fast-paced myriad of culture that their borough represents. The new surge in creativity can be attributed to the Philharmonic's programming dream team of chief executive, Andrew Dare and artistic director, Alan Pierson. Less than a year into their roles, Dare and Pierson, with the help of some incredible musicians, are bringing Brooklyn Philharmonic up to the Brooklyn Standard of arts and entertainment. Take a look at their official website here.

 

Brooklyn Soon to be the New Home of Gospel

The up-and-coming Barclays Center continues to make headlines after a melodious press event at the House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Avenue. A joyous occasion of uproarious singing and hand-clapping, the event sought to publicize Barclays Center and their new, gospel-oriented concert series. The June 7 event was heralded by Bruce Ratner, a real estate developer at the forefront of the Atlantic Yards project, the massive building project in Prospect Heights that includes Barclays Center. Joined by such big voices as Reverand Al Sharpton and rock musician, Daughtry, Ratner was able to drum up a great amount of excitement for the new program. Included in the gospel series is an October performance by The Kingsmen, a grammy-nominated gospel group whose rotating cast of singers goes back to the 1950's. Over the last several years, the Conservatory has received substantial support from the Barclays/Nets Community Alliance for its Music Partners and Music Therapy Programs. Read more at the Center's website

Pete's Program Pick

Junior Rock Week (July 9-13)

Students ages 7-11 will work with seasoned professionals for a week of fun, learning, and rocking. Kids choose an instrument on which to focus, rehearse with their band each day, learn about the history of rock music and other genres, sing together, experiment with improvisation, and watch the faculty members perform and talk about their crafts. The week culminates in a performance for families and open to the general public.

 

-Pete Robbins, Dean of Programs

Music Partner Highlights 

End of the Year Performances

Parents throughout Brooklyn and Queens have been standing proud this past month as their children perform in their end-of-year school concerts. Fourth grade violin students at P.S. 112 played and danced the "Can Can," (think Rockettes chorus line) while P.S. 24's third grade recorder students livened the stage with their unique rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In." Special guests Council Members Gentile, Koo and Vallone spoke at several of these concerts, emphasizing the importance of the arts. "Everyone has a different road," Council Member Koo said to the parents at P.S. 24. "While math, science and literacy are very important, music and art are the soul of the body. If you see that your child has an artistic talent, please encourage your child to pursue it."

 

-Dorothy Savitch, Director of Music Partners Division

Full Press Release Here

Music Therapy Corner

Sound Baths for a Clearer Mind

How do the sounds of your environment affect your physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing?  How does waking up to a bird singing vs. the sound of a jackhammer affect your mood, or your ability to rest and focus? On Tuesday, June 12, Music Therapist Katie Down led participants through a sound bath experience. The sound bath series is a sound immersion event focusing on the practice of focused presence and mindfulness in the act of listening. Sound baths provide opportunities for experiencing and understanding our relationships to different sonic environments as well as a chance to fully relax and let go. Participants went on a soundwalk and then used Tibetan bowls, Indian shruti box and chanting, drumming and some verbal processing to promote awareness, relaxation and internal balance. The Music Therapy Program's Restorative Music Therapy series is running again in the fall, and plans to repeat the Sound Bath experience. Take a look at the fall schedule here.  

 

-Toby Williams, MA, MT-BC, LCAT, Director of Music Therapy Division

BCM Awards

This year BCM is the lucky recipient of four grants totaling nearly $65,000 through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) Program, thanks to NYC Council Members Stephen Levin, Mathieu Eugene and Vincent Gentile. These funds have made it so BCM can provide after-school music programs such as world drumming, percussion, guitar, violin, musical theater and more to four Title One schools including M.S. 126 and P.S. 34 in Greenpoint, P.S. 217 in Midwood, and P.S. 112 in Bensonhurst serving more than 450 students. Thank you Council Members!
 
-Elly Erickson, Director of Institutional Giving

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) nonprofit corporation, are 100% tax deductible.

 

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.

 

 

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