On Monday, May 14, 2018, Third Street Music School Settlement (Third Street), the nation's longest running community school, will honor Grammy Award-winning Singer and Songwriter Rosanne Cash, Tony and Oscar Award-winner Joel Grey, and long-time Board Member and Award-winning Architect Byron Bell at its Annual Spring Gala. Graham Parker, President of Universal Studios Classical Music Labels, will serve as master of ceremonies and Lydia Fenet, Senior Vice President of Christie's Auction House will host the live auction. Members of the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical also will perform. Held at Capitale (130 Bowery) in New York City, the gala will bring together hundreds of luminaries from the arts, culture, education, media, business, finance and philanthropy worlds to pay tribute to the honorees for their contributions to and leadership in arts and music education. Funds raised through attendance, live and silent auction participation will help support Third Street scholarships and financial aid services. With its roots in the settlement movement, Third Street today serves more than 5,000 New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds by providing high quality, accessible music and dance instruction in more than 25 instruments and voice. More than 75% of Third Street students receive financial aid or scholarships through the school's Partners program, which sends teaching artists into community centers and public schools throughout New York City. Alumni include well-known artists Bobby Lopez, Jessie Montgomery, Irving Caesar, among others. This year's honorees join a roster of previous honorees that includes The Roots, Sting, Yoko Ono, Harold Prince, Philip Glass, and Audra McDonald. Rosanne Cash will be presented with Third Street's Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts and Joel Grey will receive Third Street's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. 'Third Street is founded on the principles of artistry, diversity, and community. We believe music connects us and that it is crucial to support programs that enable accessibility to the arts for people of all backgrounds,' said Third Street Music School's Anna-Maria Kellen Executive Director, Valerie G. Lewis. 'We are proud to celebrate our 123rd Anniversary with music visionaries, Joel Grey and Rosanne Cash, along with a long-time supporter of Third Street, Byron Bell. They have been incredible advocates for the arts, fostering artistic creativity in their communities and beyond,' she said. Gala Co-chairs are Jeannie Park and Larry Hackett, Kara Saxon and Amit Malhotra, and Kate and James Vanek. Anniversary Co-chairs include Beau Everett and Stephanie Goodman, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Tatiana Serafin and Mick Kalishman, Felipe Toews and Yuu Fujita. Honorary Co-chairs include Barbara E. Field, Philip Glass and Harold Prince. Event sponsors include Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Baldor Specialty Foods, Ernst & Young LLP, Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson LLP, Industry City, JD Carlisle Development Corporation, Steinway & Sons, and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. For more information visit thirdstreetmusicschool.org/gala or contact Katharine Nemeth at 212-777-3240 ext. 26 or gala@thirdstreetmusicschool.org. Tickets start at $500 per person and $5,000 per table. About Third Street Founded in 1894, Third Street Music School Settlement is the nation's longest-running community music school. Celebrating 123 years of service, Third Street works to enrich lives and communities by providing access to high quality music and dance instruction to students of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of artistic ability or socio-economic circumstances. As a pioneer of community arts education in the United States, Third Street today serves more than 5,000 students in our primary location on East 11th Street, and through partnerships with nearly 25 public schools and community centers throughout New York City. Third Street alumni include violist Masumi Per Rostad of the acclaimed Pacifica String Quartet; Ray Chew, musician and music director of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol; Irving Caesar, composer of the 1920's hit 'Tea for Two'; Bobby Lopez, co-creator of the hit Broadway musical Avenue Q and Academy Award-winning writer of 'Let It Go' from Disney's Frozen and 'Remember Me' from Disney's Coco; Ingrid Michaelson, pop singer/songwriter with hits on the Top 40 charts; and Jessie Montgomery, recipient of the Sphinx Award. Visit http://www.thirdstreetmusicschool.org/ for more information, and follow Third Street on Instagram @3rdstreetnyc and twitter @Third_Street.
