Make Music New York Names New Executive Director

Make Music New York is pleased to announce Jenny Undercofler as the organization's new Executive Director, effective immediately. Jenny served as Founder and Director of Face the Music, the acclaimed new-music youth ensemble, since 2005; she was also Music Director of New York's Special Music School (PS 859), a public school for musically gifted children, from 2004 until the present.

Make Music New York Inc. is a NYC-based nonprofit that organizes two annual, participatory musical celebrations: Make Music New York on June 21st, the summer solstice, and Make Music Winter on December 21st, the winter solstice. As Executive Director of Make Music New York Inc., Undercofler will take over leadership of the organization from its Founder, Aaron Friedman. Aaron, who recently accepted a position as Executive Director of the Make Music Alliance, the umbrella organization for Make Music celebrations all across the United States, will serve as MMNY Inc.'s Chair of the Board.

Jenny Undercofler has enjoyed a long association with Make Music New York: Face the Music has appeared in the summer festival every year since its second year (2008), when the ensemble performed Terry Riley's In C on the Upper West Side.

Under her leadership, Face the Music grew from an after-school club of eight kids to a massive group of more than 200 students from all over the tri-state area. Praised for "stunning performances" by The New York Times, Face the Music has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Roulette, BAM Café, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and the Bang On A Can Marathon. In addition to a multi-year collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Face the Music has worked with JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and Gutbucket.

At the Special Music School, her major initiatives included the development and publication of a theory curriculum in grades K-8, the creation of the Young Artists Program, an intensive after-school program for conservatory-bound high school students; and the creation of the Special Music School High School, which opened in the fall of 2013 in the MLK Educational Complex in Manhattan.

Said Undercofler, "I am very excited to be joining Make Music New York as its Executive Director. Ever since Face the Music participated in the 2nd MMNY, I have been impressed with both the spirit and the scope of MMNY's vision of 'music for all.' The two festivals (December and June) embody the both the expressive range and the ubiquity of New Yorkers' musical creativity. I look forward to guiding these events to be even more representative of the music that lives in New York, all year round."

Speaking of his new appointment, Aaron Friedman stated, "Since we started Make Music New York in 2007, our free musical celebration has grown to over 1,200 outdoor concerts each June 21, inspiring more than 30 cities around the country to launch their own "Make Music"s on the summer solstice.

"Thanks to support from the NAMM Foundation, I am delighted to accept a new position with the Make Music Alliance to grow Make Music Day even further across the country and around the world. But my commitment to New York hasn't diminished. As MMNY's new Chair of the Board of Directors, I look forward to working with Jenny to bring an even stronger musical outpouring to all five boroughs on June 21."

Prior to 2004, Dr. Undercofler served on the faculties of Juilliard Pre-College, Queens College, and Third Street Music School Settlement. She has also served as guest conductor of the Mannes Prep Symphony and the Mannes Prep Philharmonic. She holds B.M. and M.M. degrees in piano performance from The Juilliard School and a D.M.A. from the Eastman School of Music.

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