Carnegie Hall's Judith and Burton Resnick Education Wing Opens this Weekend

After four years of construction, Carnegie Hall's Judith and Burton Resnick Education Wing opens to the public this weekend, providing a new home within the Hall's landmark building for a wide range of music education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) and Ensemble ACJW.

Beginning with Carnegie Hall's 2014-2015 season, young musicians, families, students, and teachers will have the opportunity to share musical experiences in 24 new inspirational spaces dedicated to music education on the Hall's upper floors. Activities housed in the new 61,000-square-foot wing will include interactive and educational musical events for families; programs for New York City students and music teachers; rehearsals and training for Ensemble ACJW fellows; workshops and master classes for young musicians; and professional development activities for educators, WMI teaching artists, and performers.

The Resnick Education Wing officially opens to the public with WMI's first-ever Family Day this Sunday, September 21, a free day beginning at 11 a.m., filled with engaging, educational and fun musical activities for children (recommended ages 3-12) and their caregivers. Following performances by the Itty Biddies, Hot Peas 'N Butter, or Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem. Families will explore a "sound playground" with Polygraph Lounge; try their hands at conducting; record musical samples in a mobile recording studio; take part in a sing-along or family songwriting session; make instruments they can take home and play; and other fun surprises. [NOTE: As of September 9, the September 21 Family Day event is sold out.]

Carnegie Hall's Family Day caps a weekend of invited events for Carnegie Hall constituents celebrating the completion of the new education wing. The weekend kicks off tomorrow, Thursday, September 18 at 5:45 p.m. with an official ribbon cutting ceremony at a special event welcoming New York City music educators. Soprano Martina Arroyo, NYC Department of Education Chancellor Carmen Fariña, and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl will participate, welcoming teachers and helping to officially open the new spaces.

"Education lies at the absolute center of what we do and the way we think about everything at Carnegie Hall," said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's executive and artistic director. "With the opening of the new Resnick Education Wing, we will finally have inspirational spaces designed for music education at the Hall that match the aspirational qualities of our programs. It will be wonderful to welcome the public as well as teachers, students, and young musicians, inviting them to make music in the same building as so many of the world's greatest artists throughout its history. The addition of the wing will be truly transformational for us, ensuring that Carnegie Hall remains a place as important to the future of music as it has been to the past."

Expanded Programming in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing
Throughout the 2014-2015 season, audiences will be invited to enjoy expanded programming in the Resnick Education Wing. The wing's Weill Music Room will become the Manhattan location for free Carnegie Kids concerts for children ages 3-6 (the free citywide series will also continue to be offered in community venues in the other four New York City boroughs). Upcoming Carnegie Kids performances in the Weill Music Room include: Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower (November 8); Songs for Unusual Creatures (January 11); The Itty Biddies (February 7); and Emily Eagen (May 31).

Ticket holders to Carnegie Hall Family Concerts for children, ages 5-12, will enjoy free pre-concert activities in the education wing. Upcoming Family Concerts include performances by Ladysmith Black Mambazo (October 19; Zankel Hall) and Steven Reineke and The New York Pops (December 21; Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage). A Broadway-themed Family Concert completes the 2014-2015 series (April 18; Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage).

Complementing their recital and concert appearances at Carnegie Hall next year, three extraordinary artists will offer master classes for young performers in the education wing, events that are open to the public. South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim will work with solo pianists and small piano ensembles (October 18), acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will present a series of three master classes for opera singers (February 21-23), and celebrated pianist Richard Goode will explore Debussy's Preludes in a master class for young pianists (March 27). These events are part of WMI's series of intensive workshops and training opportunities for young professional musicians, ages 18-35. Additional projects in this series next season include The Song Continues, the series of master classes and recitals dedicated to the art of the vocal recital, led by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, joined by mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and pianist Warren Jones; and Tallis Scholars: Renaissance Masterworks, a choral workshop with Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars. Young musicians participating in The Song Continues and Tallis Scholars: Renaissance Masterworks projects will rehearse and study in the education wing prior to their final performances at Carnegie Hall and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.

Ensemble ACJW-the prestigious two-year fellowship program which prepares some of the finest young professional musicians in the US for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, and leadership-will welcome a new class of 18 fellows at the start of the 2014-2015 season. The new education wing will provide a central gathering space for the fellows as well as program alumni, and a location for professional development activities, rehearsals, teaching, and practicing. Both current Ensemble ACJW fellows and alumni will facilitate an interactive performance offered at the September 21 Family Day.

Throughout the year, the wing will be home to a variety of other programs and activities serving WMI constituents and partners including rehearsals for creative learning projects involving New York City students; one-on-one and group teaching; Music Educator Workshops for teachers from across the country; "sharing performances" for WMI songwriting workshops taking place in community settings citywide; plus professional development activities for teachers, teaching artists, and performers.