Spring 2020 Education Events Announced at the New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic has announced its spring 2020 education programs: Young People's Concerts, including one tied to Project 19, the Philharmonic's celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment through 19 commissions by women composers; Very Young People's Concerts; New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program, expanding to Brooklyn; four free concerts as part of the New York Philharmonic Youth Mentorship Program; and Musicians from the New York Philharmonic performing a free concert for individuals with dementia and their caregivers as part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts's Lincoln Center Moments.

Young People's Concerts (Ages 6-12)

Roderick Cox will make his New York Philharmonic debut conducting the season's third Young People's Concert (YPC), Music as a Change Agent, March 21, 2020, hosted by Kirya Traber and directed by Habib Azar. The program will explore how music can spark dialogue and enact change through music by Beethoven, Verdi, Shostakovich, Tippett, Henry Panion, and Valerie Coleman. The program will also feature a World Premiere by 15-year-old Very Young Composer Alexander Rothschild-Douaihy and a new arrangement of We Shall Overcome by 13-year-old Very Young Composer Jordan Millar. Ms. Millar's Boogie Down Uptown was premiered by the Philharmonic at the 2018 Young People's Concerts for Schools and reprised to critical acclaim at the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer. She has been mentored by Project 19 composer Angélica Negrón.

A version of the same program will be presented to students in grades 3-12 - many of whom have been prepared by Philharmonic Teaching Artists through the Philharmonic Schools program - on the Young People's Concerts for Schools, March 18-20, 2020, at David Geffen Hall. Those concerts will feature World Premieres by 13-year-old Very Young Composer Ilana Rahim-Braden (March 18), 12-year-old Melody Zhang (March 19), and 15-year-old Nico Lipman (March 20).

Mei-Ann Chen will make her New York Philharmonic debut conducting the season's final YPC, The Woman's Voice, May 30, 2020, part of Project 19, featuring music by women: Project 19 composer Joan Tower, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Louise Farrenc, Florence Price, and composer / suffragette Ethel Smyth. The concert will also feature a World Premiere by Very Young Composer of Shanghai Wendi Wen.

All YPCs are preceded by YPC Overtures, at which children can meet Philharmonic musicians, try out orchestral instruments, and hear works newly written by composers their own age through the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program.

Very Young People's Concerts (Ages 3-6)

The 2019-20 season of Very Young People's Concerts (VYPCs) is centered on the theme of Philharmonic Families. The next VYPC program, "Brass," will take place March 29, 2020, at Merkin Hall and April 4, 2020, at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture in the Bronx. The final VYPC program of the season, "Winds," will take place June 7, 2020, at Merkin Hall and June 13, 2020, at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning in Queens. The performance in the Bronx is free, and the performance in Queens is $5 per ticket.

Hosted by Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young, the series features performances by Musicians from the New York Philharmonic. They are directed and designed by Doug Fitch, with whom the Philharmonic has collaborated on several acclaimed staged productions and who began his involvement in Philharmonic VYPCs in 2017.

VYPCs are designed by New York Philharmonic musicians to introduce young children to classical music through games, active listening, and hands-on music-making. Before each concert, Philharmonic musicians are stationed to greet families and lead musical activities on the day's theme. After the performance, children have an opportunity to try orchestral instruments themselves. The concerts in Queens and the Bronx will feature an instrument-making station.

Very Young Composers

The New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program launches its pilot year of VYC Bridge Brooklyn - the first VYC Bridge Program located outside the Lincoln Center campus - at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School.

The New York Philharmonic's Saturday Matinee Concert on April 18, 2020, will be followed immediately by Musicians from the New York Philharmonic performing original compositions by Very Young Composers from New York City and around the world. The international students communicated with their counterparts in New York through Musical Postcards, an activity through which students from different countries share stories and musical ideas. This year, the students are corresponding and writing music reacting to global issues that are important to them. Admission is included in the ticket for the Saturday Matinee Concert.

New York Philharmonic Youth Mentorship Program

This season the Philharmonic has partnered with the All-City High School Music Program, Corona Youth Music Project, Harmony Program, and UpBeat NYC as part of the New York Philharmonic Youth Mentorship Program - partnerships with institutions committed to providing students from a variety of backgrounds with orchestral training. The collaborations will culminate in free side-by-side concerts featuring Philharmonic musicians performing alongside their mentees. Corona Youth Music Project, Harmony Program, and UpBeat NYC are three of New York City's five El Sistema-inspired programs, offering free classical music training programs for children.

Twenty-five students from UpBeat NYC and 30 students from the Corona Youth Music Project will perform alongside their Philharmonic mentors on Monday, April 13, 2020, at 3:30 p.m. at PS 19 in Queens, conducted by Andres Rivas, and Thursday, April 16, 2020, at 5:30 p.m. at Tercera Iglesia Bautista in the Bronx, conducted by Leonardo Pineda. The program will feature works by Moncayo, Arturo Márquez, Ginastera, and a traditional Venezuelan song. No tickets are required; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Founded in 2009, UpBeat NYC provides free musical training - including classical, Latin, and jazz - for South Bronx children who have limited access to high-quality arts education by providing immersive year-round after-school music instruction. Founded in 2010, the Corona Youth Music Project empowers youth, fights poverty, and promotes social inclusion through music education and performance.

Twenty-three students from the Harmony Program were selected by audition for a mentorship with Philharmonic musicians, which began in November 2019. All are elementary, middle, and high school students from neighborhoods including Washington Heights; Chinatown; Brooklyn; Jamaica, Queens; and Copiague, Long Island. The mentorship will culminate in a free concert featuring the Harmony All Stars alongside their Philharmonic mentors; date and location to be announced. The 2019-20 season marks the Philharmonic's sixth season partnering with the Harmony Program in its All Stars Initiative, established to provide a more personal and in-depth collaboration between Philharmonic musicians and the more advanced students in the Harmony Program, which serves children throughout New York City. Established in 2004, the Harmony Program provides free, year-round, and community-based training in instrumental and choral music to children in communities of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens where it is needed most.

Twelve Philharmonic musicians have been coaching more than 180 All-City High School Music Program students, who hail from 61 public schools in all five boroughs, in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In addition, All-City students have participated in YPC Overtures, pre-concert activities at New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts, assisting with instrument tryouts for audience members aged six to twelve. The partnership will culminate in a free concert featuring All-City students performing alongside their Philharmonic mentors on Monday, May 18, 2020, at 6:45 p.m. at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. All-City Orchestra principal conductor Barry Stern will conduct works by Musorgsky and John Williams, and All-City Concert Band co-principal conductors Jeff W. Ball and Eli Kronenberg will conduct works by Andrew Boss and Chance. Free tickets will be distributed at the Skirball Box Office the evening of the performance. Now in its 84th season, the All-City High School Music Program has impacted millions of young musicians and their families through a full orchestra, chorus, Latin ensemble, and concert, marching, and jazz bands. The program is operated by the NYCDOE's Office of Arts & Special Projects.

Lincoln Center Moments

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will present a free performance-based program specially designed for individuals with dementia and their caregivers on March 9, 2020, at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse as part of the Lincoln Center Moments series. Philharmonic violinists Fiona Simon and Su Hyun Park, violist Robert Rinehart, and Associate Principal Cello Eileen Moon-Myers will perform Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3. The performance will be followed by a one-hour discussion, movement, and art-making workshop for participants to reflect upon their experience.

Tickets

Single tickets to Young People's Concerts start at $16; all tickets include admission to YPC Overtures. Single tickets to Young People's Concerts for Schools are $10 per student and available here. Single tickets to Very Young People's Concerts at Merkin Hall start at $26; tickets to the Very Young People's Concert at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture are free; tickets to the Very Young People's Concert at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning are $5. (Ticket prices subject to change.) Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office.

Lincoln Center Moments is free, but registration is required at lincolncenter.org/moments.

Free tickets to the May 18 All-City High School Music Program side-by-side concert will be distributed at the Skirball Box Office the evening of the performance.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!