Students Will Premiere Original Songs At Joe's Pub This Week

Students from the New York Youth Symphony's Musical Theater Songwriting program will take the stage at Joe's Pub on May 15th at 7:00pm. The fruits of their labor from an entire year will be showcased and premiered and proof of the successes of the program.

Artistic Director Michael Kooman (Emmy Nominee) is not only amazed at the level of talent he sees in these students, but also extremely humbled by the kind of education they are receiving at such a young age. "With the level of these students so high, we're able to tackle writing concepts most creatives are encountering at a collegiate level," explained Mr. Kooman. "Because of this incredible program with the New York Youth Symphony, they are able to begin their songwriting journey earlier in life and hone these songwriting and storytelling skills."

The students in Musical Theater Songwriting learn how to craft a musical theater song lyric, develop music composition and arranging skills and collaborate with other young writers and performers. By using a well-known film as their springboard, the students put lyrics and music to some of the most emotional and thought-provoking scenes from the film.

This year, ten songs by students will be using the 1990's cult classic, 10 Things I Hate About You as their songwriting toolbox. The modern-day high school version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is ripe for musical interpretations. "Part of the process is pinpointing the moments where a character's emotion would push them into a song, and then deciding how a song in a theatrical context might be constructed to support the storytelling," said Mr. Kooman. "10 Things is beyond perfect, and the romantic and comedic elements are what gives the students the perfect vehicle to find their way from paper to a microphone."

Additional songs were written about other projects that the students studied in class giving audience members a real robust look at their original work. Joined by singers from Harlem School of the Arts and Marymount College and a Broadway pit band, the night is going to be an amazing culmination of a year of hard work. Tickets are available at www.nyys.org/events.

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