Orchestra of St. Luke's Partners with PAL on New Youth Orchestra Program

This summer, Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) introduces YouthOrchestra of St. Luke's, or YOSL, taking inspiration from youth orchestra programs around the world- including Venezuela's El Sistema-that emphasize after-school music instruction and ensemble playing as an agent for social change. This marks ashift in direction for OSL's Community & Education programs, which have evolved and expanded since OSL opened The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in 2011.

The goal of YOSL is to connect young people across New York City through music. In its earliest phase, YOSL will focus on The DiMenna Center's neighborhood, offeringfree group music instruction in partnership with the Police Athletic League (PAL) summer camp and after-school program in Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. The partnership launches this week at PAL summer camp, where 5th graders will receive violins and participate in weekly group lessons, working toward a final ensemble performance in August. Campers will also receive one month of choral instruction to strengthen general music and ensemble skills. OSL and PAL's after-school program, launching this fall, will be more intensive, with two hours of string-instrument instruction and rehearsals five days every week.

"Research proves the positive effect of music instruction on learning," said PAL Executive Director Alana Sweeney. "Many of our schools have eliminated music programs and the families we serve have limited access to outside music instruction, yet our children are anxious to learn an instrument, play in an orchestra, or be a part of a choir. The partnership between PAL and OSL will fill this void, inspire our youth, and help them succeed academically."

When OSL built and moved into The DiMenna Center, staff met with groups and residents in Clinton/Hell's Kitchen to learn how to best serve its new neighborhood. The area's youth organizations and two Title I schools-where 72% of students receive free or reduced lunch-reported a need for greater family involvement in children's lives, affordable after-school programs, and activities that develop confidence, leadership, and team-building skills. Additional organizations and residents identified a lack of access to high-quality arts programs for children and were eager for activities that would create a sense of community.

"Orchestra of St. Luke's strongly believes that participation in music is an ideal way to bring children and their families together in a shared experience of accomplishment and joy," said OSL President and Executive Director Katy Clark. "With the ability to engage OSL's superb musicians in education initiatives, and a state-of-the-art venue at our fingertips, we are uniquely positioned to address many of the issues raised in our community through YOSL."

In addition to the new after-school program with PAL, OSL will continue and grow its in-school violin-coaching program with Clinton/Hell's Kitchen schools P.S. 111 and P.S. 51, with increased instructional hours and opportunities for those students to perform alongside YOSL participants. YOSL will expand beyond Clinton/Hell's Kitchen by supporting other after-school music programs across the New York City area, providing coaching sessions with OSL's musicians, private lessons for advanced students, and professional development for teachers. Within five years,YOSL will develop into a city-wide youth orchestra based at The DiMenna Center, and made up of students in OSL instrumental-coaching programs and other music programs.

Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, was instrumental in helping to identify needs that OSL could address through education programs. "YOSL will be an incredible asset to the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and to the city as a whole," said Quinn. "By partnering with the Duncan PAL, OSL will bring new musical programming to our children, fostering a creative, collaborative, and dynamic environment, while continuing its strong and growing presence in local schools."

Jamie Bernstein, daughter of legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, noted that YOSL will give children a daily activity that supports their development as focused, self-motivated individuals and colleagues. "This is a program about social transformation-and it just so happens that an orchestra is a perfect template for a world that works: a world based, literally and figuratively, on harmony," Bernstein explained, adding that the program will bring family and friends of YOSL students to regular concerts, generating new classical music audiences. "We are seeing no less than the future of the symphony orchestra in the United States. [It] is nothing short of prescient for the Orchestra of St. Luke's to have initiated this new program with the Police Athletic League," she said.

For many years, OSL has made classical music performances accessible to all New Yorkers. Since its beginnings in the mid-1970s, OSL has presented free education concerts that currently engage more than 10,000 New York City public school children each year. In 2009, OSL introduced St. Luke's Subway Series, which brings free chamber music concerts for children and adults to each of the five boroughs. Increasingly, the orchestra has developed programs that offer interactive experiences. When The DiMenna Center for Classical Music opened in 2011, OSL introduced OSL@DMC, a series designed to connect people to the process of music making through free events such as family concerts, community sings, and Q&A chats with musicians. Also in 2011, OSL began its Amateur Musicians Project (AMP), offering adult amateurs chamber music coaching and performance opportunities.

With the YOSL program, OSL is thrilled to engage its community at an even deeper level. The ensemble-based program will not only provide students with life-long skills, but will also allow OSL to use The DiMenna Center to its full potential, bringing together OSL performers, teachers, and learners of all ages and backgrounds in an exploration of music.

For more information on YOSL, please visit www.OSLmusic.org/community-education/yosl

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