Carnegie Hall Invites Thousands of NYC-Area Children for Link Up Concert this Thursday

Now in its 32nd season, Link Up is the longest-running school program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI). Designed for students in grades 3-5, the program facilitates deeper connections between the concert hall and the classroom through an instrument-focused curriculum that culminates in an annual participatory concert. This month marks the inaugural concerts of The Orchestra Swings-the first new Link Up curriculum since 2012-designed to introduce the idea of "swing" through a conversation between the symphony orchestra and a jazz septet.

The nearly 15,000 New York City-area students and teachers who have adopted this program during the 2016-2017 school year will travel to Carnegie Hall for engaging, interactive concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this week, during which the students will play instruments from their seats. The program includes music by Ellington, Gershwin, and Bernstein.

The Orchestra Swings at Carnegie Hall features Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Rossen Milanov, and co-hosted by teaching artist and composer Thomas Cabaniss and jazz musician Chris Washburne, who also leads the Rags and Roots jazz septet. One of the highlights of the performances will be the premiere of composer Courtney Bryan's new work, "Do Your Thing," commissioned especially for The Orchestra Swings as part of Carnegie Hall's 125 Commissions Project.