Bloomingdale School Of Music Presents its Spring Benefit: Play It Forward in April

Bloomingdale School of Music has announced the annual Spring Benefit on April 3, 2023 at 6:30 pm at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, NYC. Bloomingdale will also be celebrating 30 years of the Music Access Project (MAP), its signature, three-year pre-college training program for musically talented children in need, featuring high-quality instruction and personal mentoring. The evening will include performances by MAP students and alumni, as well as guest artists. Attendees can enjoy a buffet dinner with table seating, an open bar and post-performance champagne reception, and a live raffle now online at https://go.rallyup.com/playitforward/Campaign/Details.

Tickets for the benefit are $25-$100, with sponsorships available from $500-$10,000. The evening will also be live streamed for supporters who make a donation of any amount. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bsmny.org/playitforward.

"MAP is so much more than a college prep music program. It is a gateway to exploration to the young people who enter this program, an opportunity to explore what more they are capable of," said Executive Director Erika Atkins. "It is a community of creative music lovers, who often develop lifelong friendships and a forever fondness for the magic of this old brownstone. I mean think about this, we still have MAP alumni on our staff and faculty, and I have to say their dedication to school is absolutely invaluable to the work we now do."

This year's Benefit theme is derived from the MAP experience. A play on words of the common expression "pay it forward," Play it Forward alludes to the path each MAP student embarks on with the support of Bloomingdale faculty, community members, and funders. This forward movement in their lives begins with acceptance into the program and leads them on a personal and musical journey through to college. Many MAP students go on to pay it forward as upstanding members of their own communities or even as faculty and staff here at Bloomingdale, mentoring the next generation of MAP students.

The evening will feature speakers from alumni of the MAP program, Van Lier Fellow Scholarship recipients, and performances by the current MAP students alongside faculty and guest artists. In addition to the live performances and speakers, we'll also present a series of videos that offer an intimate glimpse into the inner workings of the MAP scholarship program.

Speakers

Jared Hung - Current Van Lier Fellow Scholarship Recipient & MAP Student

Joshua Rim - MAP Alumni

Cindy Baez - MAP Alumni

Judy Woo - Current MAP Director

Ed Castro - Speaker from the first MAP class

Erika Atkins - Executive Director of Bloomingdale

Program

"Drumming Part 1" by Steve Reich

MAP Percussion Ensemble

Taylor Austin*

Daniel Perez Ponce*

Angel Pineda*

(Coached by Eric Phinney)

"Aufschwung ", op.12 no.2 by Robert Schumann

Woodwind Trio

Honoko Saeki*, flute

Adam Garandza*, clarinet

Leigh Murphy, piano

(Coached by Olga Gurevich)

"Tango for Jam Jam" by Jack Smith

Brass Quintet

Toby Chau*, trumpet

Joshua Condori*, trumpet

Felicity Zhao*, horn

Alex Jeun, trombone

Jared Hung*, tuba

(Coached by Kevin Krumenauer)

"Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, op. 49" by Felix Mendelssohn -

i. Molto allegro agitato

Bloomingdale Chamber Students

Bianca Dwork, violin

Sofia Sanchez-Martinez, cello

Will Itskovich, piano

(Coached by Rhiannon Banerdt)

"Spain" by Chick Corea

The MAP Chamber Jazz Ensemble

Ghair Perez Ponce*, alto saxophone

Brandon Vazquez, trumpet

Alex Jeun, trombone

Jake Edelstein, piano

Camilo Aristizabal, drums

(Coached by Kevin Krumenauer)

*MAP Students (Current)