“You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.” ~ Billie Holiday
Happy Monday, Music Studio Families!
Welcome to the third week of March as Women's History Month marches on, and we welcome in the spring season, tomorrow! We hope you had a wonderful weekend and got a chance to come out to see the incredible Operetta Workshop: The Gondoliers, a truly spectacular performance! We congratulate the entire cast, crew, pit and faculty. Check out some photo highlights below.
General Music Studio Meeting
Join us via Zoom TONIGHT, March 18th, at 7:45 pm. Our special guest will be Post-Secondary Advisor, Erica Blum. The topic is College or Conservatory, BFA or BA. Ms. Blum will discuss the differences and how to navigate the process of choosing what might work for the student. This meeting is open to all studios, so bring a friend!
Are you on our mailing list? Please make sure you sign up to get on our mailing list so you will never miss a meeting. Meetings will always be posted in the Music Monday newsletter and reminder emails will also be sent.
Please continue to join us virtually and in-person. We look forward to seeing you!
Operetta Highlights
Click the above poster for the full program
Fandango Cast & Ensemble
Photography by William Sherman
Click the above photo to watch a snippet from the Finale of Act 2
Pit Orchestra
Photography by William Sherman
Support The Jazz Orchestra
Hurry, Go Fund Them Before Time Runs Out!
The LaGuardia High School Jazz Orchestra has been invited to Copenhagen to spend their Spring Break week collaborating with Sankt Annae Gymnasium, the top upper secondary school of music in Denmark. After years of planning, the youth Big Band from Sankt Annae visited NYC and collaborated with the LaGuardia Jazz Orchestra last spring, and now Sankt Annae wishes to host and reciprocate. It is hoped that this cultural exchange can become an annual tradition between the two schools who share a common mission–to ensure music education at a high level for talented students–and perhaps grow to include other departments and groups from both schools in future years. This is an exceptional opportunity for the students to learn from each other, experience different cultures, and participate in concerts, workshops and jam sessions together.
We are asking you to support these amazing students by donating to help defray the coststhat will be incurred by families and make it possible for every member of the orchestra to attend. The Jazz Orchestra will travel together from NYC to Copenhagen for a seven-night stay, where costs including hostel accommodations, airfare, local transportation and meals are ballparked at nearly $2,000 per student.
All funds will be donated directly to LaGuardia High School to support the Jazz Orchestra trip to Copenhagen. Your donations will help subsidize the cost for all students, and especially for students in need of financial assistance in order to attend this trip. Let's make sure that every student is able to attend and perform in Copenhagen!
Join us in celebrating this wonderful opportunity, and please donate today to help make this a memorable and impactful experience for the students of the LaGuardia High School Jazz Orchestra!
CLICK THE ABOVE AND BELOW PHOTOS TO HEAR THE JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Blan
Blurb From Ben
Dear Music Studio Families,
We're gearing up for our spring concert season!
I hope you were able to see the Operetta this past week. Kudos to our team of dedicated teachers and talented students on an amazing production. Attending the performances is a great way to support the students, the music program, and witness these young artists' extraordinary growth since September.
Please join us on March 27th for the Concerto Competition.
Do you have some free time that you'd like to donate? No problem, we've got just the opportunity for you!
We're forming a Music Studio Enhancement Committee to help us create a warm, cheerful and welcoming environment in the Music Studio!
We're looking for people to help us brainstorm ideas for decor, planning, printing posters and pictures, then assemble and execute. If you are interested, please send an email to music@laguardiahspa.org or instrumental@laguardiahspa.org and let's get to beautifying!
Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik
Music Studio Funding Appeal
The Music Studio thanks you for your continued donations and support for our students and studio. Your donations assist in covering the many expenses of the Music Studio, which in turn helps our students. While we work to continuously support our students and teachers, we definitely cannot achieve this without your help. These necessary funds are used to purchase the music our students perform, workshops, master classes, professional development, accompanists and so much more.
Click HEREto read our fundraising letter - WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
Mr. Clark, LaG vocal teacher with his LaG Swag: Laguardia MS sweat pants, and LaG Big Label red scull cap
Music Studio Board members selling LaG MS Swag in their own LaG swag
Resources
FIND YOUR BEST POST SECONDARY MUSIC SCHOOL
Get all the details you need for your best music school choice, from audition requirements to financial aid and career help - and what makes each school unique.
Click the photo to download the 2023-24 Guide to Music Schools.
Below you will find a list of organizations who offer summer programing for high school students. Click on any one to be taken directly to their websites for more information.
*DISCLAIMER*
The LaGaurdia PA does not endorse any of the below organizations. Resource listing is provided simply as a means to share information with our Music Studio Community.
Summer 2024 Applications Now Open
Greetings from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University! Explore all that Northwestern and the Bienen School have to offer through one of our eight Summer Session workshops. These programs offer students a one-week intensive led by Bienen's world-renowned faculty in a small group setting. Visit our Summer Sessions Workshops page to learn more about our offerings and start your application today!
Registration with full payment is required to reserve your participation and will be accepted until the symposium is filled. Payments must be received no later than June 1, 2024.
Screen ActingRegistration opens in March - Rolling, limited to 10 spots
New Program Spotlight
ArtsBridge Summer Screen Acting
We are thrilled to announce our newest program: ArtsBridge Summer Screen Acting! Led by Chapman University faculty John Benitz, students in this 4-day add-on program will discover a whole new world of acting for the screen. Through a series of exercises and hands-on experience, students will build foundational screen acting skills. The program will culminate in the filming and screening of partnered scenes, allowing students to experience the entire process from rehearsal to professionally edited work.
Just Announced: Scholarships are available through the Empire State Summer Arts Scholarship, a program of the New York Department of Education. Must apply by April 19, 2024. Eligibility Requirements
Other Applicants: Deadline to apply March 31
Do you have additional resources to share with the LaGuardia Music Studio Community?
Don't miss your chance to attend our Spring Open House - one of the biggest events of the year for prospective students, on March 30th. Take a tour of the Boston Campus, learn more about the application process, and enjoy student performances, all in one day.
This event will also be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in person. Please register to receive the livestream link.
Virtual Information Sessions
Register for an upcoming virtual information session to talk to an admissions counselor and ask any questions you may have about applying, auditioning, interviewing or transferring to Berklee College of Music undergraduate program.
March 7 - Transfer Student Q&A
Join Associate Director of Admissions, Michael Gamble, to learn about transferring to Berklee. Zoom at 11 am. Sign up
March 14 - Diversity and Inclusion at Berklee:
Prospective Student Q&A
Join the Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment staff and student coordinators to discuss student resources. Zoom 3:30 pm. Sign up
March 28 - Prospective Student Q&A
Learn about Berklee's programs, student experience, admissions process, and more. Zoom 3:30 pm. Sign up
April 4 - Transfer Student Q&A
Join Associate Director of Admissions, Michael Gamble, to learn about transferring to Berklee. Zoom at 11 am. Sign Up
Join me in continuing the incredible work of Sanford Meisner after the Neighborhood Playhouse Junior program closes on April 6th: Teen Meisner with Mollie O'Mara.
There is so much more to Meisner's training, that I am excited to be able to continue this work with the students. From Mr. Meisner's own words that "Acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances" I will expertly guide our young actors through the technique with improvisations, scenes and monologues all the while working off the imagination and/or text.
Saturday, April 13 - May 18, from 11am-1pm
ArtNY, 520 Eighth Avenue
The cost of the class will be $325 per person for the six (6) Saturday sessions, made payable one week before class starts. This class will also include an 8x10 professional photo (over $500 value) and we'll work on an acting resume.
MAP (Music Advancement Program) is a Saturday program for intermediate and advanced music students from New York City’s five boroughs and the tristate area who demonstrate a commitment to artistic excellence. The program actively seeks students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in the classical music field. Application deadline April 1, 2024
SING FOR HOPE YOUTH CHOIR
The Sing for Hope Youth Chorus is Sing for Hope’s musical ensemble that provides creative service learning through rehearsal and performance for children and youth ages 8-18 via an innovative multi-age model. At once global and hyperlocal, The Sing for Hope Youth Chorus is our pride and joy, currently centering a core group made up of young singers from across the New York Metropolitan area. Performing subset groups include Girls’ Chorus, Gospel Choir, and more. Click here for more information.
SOUND + SCIENCE
Sound+Science is an innovative after-school program in NYC for high school students interested in exploring the unique and deep connection between music and STEM. Through a unique curriculum, participants will explore modules like ‘The Hidden Codes in Electronic Music’, ‘From Hip-Hop to AI’, and Music Improvisation and the Evolution of the Mathematics of Computation Sound+Science, revealing the profound connections between music, technology, physics and mathematics.
Participants can look forward to Masterclass Lectures, where industry experts shed light on the confluence of music and technology and the Studio Labs, which provide a hands-on environment for participants to apply their knowledge, fostering creativity and collaboration.
Sound+Science will also offer a challenging and supportive environment that pairs high school students with local college STEM majors as they work together on Incentive-based projects designed to challenge and motivate participants to create real-world applications that resonate with musicians, producers, and coders while facilitating knowledge exchange and mutual growth.
The program will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7pm at Civic Hall in Union Square from March 5 - May 23 with breaks to coincide with the DoE's calendar. It is completely free for New York City Public School students through support from the Simons Foundation.
Do you know of an opportunity to share with the LaGuardia Music Studio Community?
