Gift of Music: Yamaha Provides More Than 100 Instruments to New York Elementary School
NEW YORK CITY Yamaha Band & Orchestral Division recently donated more than 100 band and orchestral instruments to the Pedro Albizu Campos Public School 161, located in Harlem. The donation consisted of 10 flutes, 15 clarinets, 10 alto saxophones, eight trumpets, two drum sets, and 65 string instruments, as well as band and strings books and supplementary materials.
Integral to this initiative is a partnership between Yamaha and Carnegie Hall. Beginning in January 2009, Yamaha will produce recorders bearing the Carnegie Hall name for sale nationwide. Future proceeds from the sale of the Carnegie Hall branded Yamaha recorders are being used to provide more than one hundred new Yamaha instrumentsenough to equip a full school band and string ensemblefor PS 161's music department. This special gift of instruments was celebrated with an ensemble performance by PS 161 students on October 21, 2008.
"At Yamaha, we believe one of life's greatest rewards is to be able to use music as a means of creative self expression," said Rick Young, Senior Vice President, Yamaha Corporation of America. "We're thrilled to be able to partner with The Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall on this extremely important endeavor. It's our hope that these instruments help provide students with inspiration and enrichment for many years to come."
As a key part of this new collaboration, The Weill Music Institute and PS 161 will utilize the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music, a component of the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. Created in 2004, and revised this year by the New York Department of Education and members of the New York City cultural community, the Blueprint outlines a comprehensive, standards-based approach to arts education for every student in grades K-12. The Blueprint initiative at PS 161 will develop curriculum and approaches to teaching that will create, over time, a template that other premier arts organizations and schools will be able to follow and adapt. This partnership embodies The Weill Music Institute's mission to create wide-reaching music education programs that play a central role in Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible.
"It's exciting to be at the beginning of such a promising partnership with PS 161 and the New York City Department of Education," said Sarah Johnson, Director of The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. "We are also thrilled that our partnership with Yamaha has served as a platform to provide what promises to be a transformational gift of over 100 instruments to PS 161. We hope the instruments will help reinvigorate this school's music department, benefiting students for years to come."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, e-mail infostation@yamaha.com or visit www.yamaha.com/band.
Integral to this initiative is a partnership between Yamaha and Carnegie Hall. Beginning in January 2009, Yamaha will produce recorders bearing the Carnegie Hall name for sale nationwide. Future proceeds from the sale of the Carnegie Hall branded Yamaha recorders are being used to provide more than one hundred new Yamaha instrumentsenough to equip a full school band and string ensemblefor PS 161's music department. This special gift of instruments was celebrated with an ensemble performance by PS 161 students on October 21, 2008.
"At Yamaha, we believe one of life's greatest rewards is to be able to use music as a means of creative self expression," said Rick Young, Senior Vice President, Yamaha Corporation of America. "We're thrilled to be able to partner with The Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall on this extremely important endeavor. It's our hope that these instruments help provide students with inspiration and enrichment for many years to come."
As a key part of this new collaboration, The Weill Music Institute and PS 161 will utilize the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music, a component of the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. Created in 2004, and revised this year by the New York Department of Education and members of the New York City cultural community, the Blueprint outlines a comprehensive, standards-based approach to arts education for every student in grades K-12. The Blueprint initiative at PS 161 will develop curriculum and approaches to teaching that will create, over time, a template that other premier arts organizations and schools will be able to follow and adapt. This partnership embodies The Weill Music Institute's mission to create wide-reaching music education programs that play a central role in Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible.
"It's exciting to be at the beginning of such a promising partnership with PS 161 and the New York City Department of Education," said Sarah Johnson, Director of The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. "We are also thrilled that our partnership with Yamaha has served as a platform to provide what promises to be a transformational gift of over 100 instruments to PS 161. We hope the instruments will help reinvigorate this school's music department, benefiting students for years to come."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, e-mail infostation@yamaha.com or visit www.yamaha.com/band.