Brooklyn Music School Announces St. Felix Centennial Gala with Guest Host Arturo O'Farrill

Brooklyn Music School (BMS) announces the St. Felix Street Centennial Gala on Thursday, October 25, 2018 from 6pm-10pm at DUMBO Loft, 155 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY. Tickets range from $100 - $500, and sponsorship levels are available from $1000 - $10,000. Tickets and Sponsorship Packages are available at https://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?etid=10658.

The evening features Grammy Award winner Arturo O'Farrill, recognized as one of the greatest names in Latin jazz today and founder of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, as guest host.

"Learning music and playing music... has incredible parallels for our day-to-day existence as human beings. All the ideas of discipline and having a sense of yourself and translating that to music, that's all part of life's journey," said Arturo O'Farrill.

A hundred years ago, the Brooklyn Music School had outgrown its location on Grand Avenue at the converted "Tub of Blood Saloon," which had been home to a notorious New York gang in the 19th century before becoming a community music school in 1909. The school's founders had the vision to move into a new location on St. Felix Street, next to the Brooklyn Academy Of Music Opera House in the heart of Ft. Greene.

Over the following century, the school has grown from serving 250 students to 8,000 students at our historic home on St. Felix and across New York City.

"Over the decades, the Brooklyn Music School has maintained our distinctive approach to bringing the joy of music and performing arts to all ages, ethnic groups, and abilities and embracing the rich tapestry of musical traditions that make Brooklyn a musical melting pot of creativity," said Crocker Coulson, Chair of the Board of Trustees. "The enormous growth in served students in recent years, ranging from toddlers to seniors, speaks to the dire need for music and performing arts education in our community. The data are conclusive: quality music instruction has a dramatic impact on both academic performance and life outcomes, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is a chance to celebrate what the team at BMS has achieved and look forward to the future!"

The Brooklyn Music School plans to increase accessibility to outstanding music and performing arts education and create a safe and welcoming environment for students, including:

• Urgent structural repairs and improvements to our historical brownstone facility at 126 St. Felix Street
• Funding for financial aid and merit-based scholarships for deserving students in music, dance, and performing arts

Key Programs of Brooklyn Music School

• BMS Outreach brings music and performing arts to public schools and senior centers across NYC.
• BMS Music Mentors off­ers full scholarships for dedicated students from lower income families, with a 100% college matriculation rate for participants since inception. BMS provides financial aid to nearly 40% of our private lesson students.
• BMS "Arts Reaching Youth" A­fter-School provides aff­ordable music and arts programming to Brooklyn families.
• BMS Vocal Arts provides pre-professional opera training to emerging artists and staging fully produced operas, musicals and cabaret performances.
• BMS embraces the full range of musical traditions that enrich New York City, including classical, jazz, African and African diaspora, middle eastern, Jewish, American roots, and many others

The Brooklyn Music School views music and performance as the birthright of all people, an essential way that human beings connect with others and explore their creativity. The study of music has been demonstrated to enhance academic learning and help develop discipline and confidence that will serve children well throughout their lives.As part of the vision of reinventing the community music school for the 21st Century, BMS is dedicated to:

• Making high quality musical instruction approachable and affordable to a wide range of students.
• Creating frequent opportunities for performance for our students and cultural enrichment for our community.
• Representing a wide range of musical traditions, including European, African, Middle Eastern, and American to represent the diversity of Brooklyn's musical talent.
• Offering a warm and welcoming space for families and individuals to explore new talents and make lasting friendships.

For more information, visit www.brooklynmusicschool.org.

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