Education
Young Musicians of Westchester offers opportunities for musicians to engage with students in under-resourced schools, introducing children to a range of music and artistic expression, at no cost to the school. The following are recent collaborations with the New Rochelle Public Library in support of the Library’s efforts to have students engage with a range of performing artists. In the future, we plan to expand these programs to other communities in Westchester County.
On November 14, 2023, the Balsam Piano Trio, students from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, perform The Carnival of the Animals for students at New Rochelle’s Columbus Elementary School in an interactive program. These outstanding young musicians recently performed this music at the Queens Theatre as part of a Classical Kids Fair sponsored by WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Station.
This program is being provided in support of the New Rochelle Public Library’s efforts to have children in local public schools engage with performing artists in the Library’s Ossie Davis Theatre. Our thanks go to the Library’s Community Liaison and Programming team of Lisa Itzkowitz and Tobe Sevush, and to the Principal of Columbus Elementary School, Michael Galland and its dedicated music teacher, Courtney Bullen for making this event possible.
The Balsam Piano Trio members are Ricky Moreira (piano), Sara Strozzo (cello) and Chloë Dickens (violin). The Carnival of the Animals a work by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921), is a musical suite of 14 movements, with each corresponding to an animal; one of the most beloved suites is The Swan. The program will also provide opportunities for the students to ask questions of the musicians.
Click here to view the program for this performance.
