Yamaha Donates Piano to Brooklyn High School to Celebrate Opening of New York Artist Services Center

BUENA PARK, CA (June 25, 2004) When school opens in September, students at the International Arts Business High School on Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn, NY will have a brand-new Yamaha P22 school piano to enjoy, thanks to a donation by Yamaha Corporation of America.

On June 14, the International Arts Business High School in Brooklyn, NY received a new P22 school piano donated by Yamaha, and ninth-graders (L-R) Jammal Thomas, Eldad St.-Hilaire, Carlos Reid and Philip Williams joined principal Leonard Trerotola to gather around it for the first time shortly after it was delivered. Yamaha donated the piano to underscore its commitment to New York 's artistic community, in connection with the grand opening of Yamaha Artist Services, Inc.'s new Fifth Avenue facility.

New York City Department of Education Director of Music Nancy Shankman accepted the donation on behalf of the city at the May 18 event. But on June 14 in Brooklyn, Leonard Trerotola, principal of the International Arts Business High School, was on hand to receive the piano, along with the students who will actually use it.

"The piano is a fabulous addition to our school," Trerotola says. "We will be using it for live performance to accompany singers and instrumentalists in a solo and ensemble capacity. In addition, many of our students are excited to have the opportunity to study the piano on a real piano as opposed to an electric keyboard. Several students have already received some preliminary instruction in terms of hand position and basic reading in 'C' position."

The International Arts Business High School, established last year, included 109 ninth-grade students in the 2003-04 academic year, and will admit its second class this fall. An "expressed interest" school, it accepts pupils from all over Brooklyn who wish to focus on the business of the arts in addition to regular academic subjects.

Yamaha donated the piano to the New York City Department of Education in celebration of its new Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. facility on May 18. The Fifth Avenue center is a fully-equipped technology and service center for the professional jazz, pop, classical and Broadway musicians who use Yamaha instruments, including stars like Abbey Simon, Frederic Chiu, Maria Joao Pires, Naida Cole, Elton John and Norah Jones.

The establishment of the 15,000-square-foot Fifth Avenue location represents Yamaha's ongoing commitment to the New York City arts community, and its donation of the school piano underscores that commitment. City education officials selected the Brooklyn school to be the recipient of the instrument.

For more information about Yamaha pianos, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.

Related Links:

P22