Atlanta Music Project 2013 Summer String Program*

Requirements: To be accepted in this program, participants must attend all five classes and the concert.

What: Group lessons for beginner & intermediate string instruments

Where: Coan Recreation Center 1530 Woodbine Ave SE Atlanta, GA 30317

When: Saturdays in June (June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29).

Time: Beginners: 9:00am to 11:00am. Intermediate: 11:15am to 1:15pm.

Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass (AMP will provide instruments)

Age: Participants must be in grades 2 through 8 in August 2013

Cost: AMP will provide 50 Full Scholarships for the AMP 2013 Summer String Program

Concert: Saturday June 29 2:00pm at Coan Recreation Center

*Priority will be given to students that attend the following schools: Coan Middle School, Whitefoord Elementary, Toomer Elementary School, Burgess Peterson Elementary School

HOW TO REGISTER: You must register your child in person at the Coan Recreation Center by May 29, 2013. Emailed registrations will not be accepted. 

Questions? (678) 235-4267 or info@atlantamusicproject.org

African Drum and Dance (as part of Camp Best Friends)

What: Students will participate in an African Drum and Dance session and performance

Where: South Bend Center for Art and Culture 1955 Compton Drive Atlanta, GA 30315

When: Weekdays June 10 to June 28

Time: One hour/day during the weekdays. This programming is offered as part of Camp Best Friends, a day camp of the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

Cost: As this programming is part of City of Atlanta’s Camp Best Friends, the City of Atlanta will charge participation fees based on a sliding scale. See contact info below for more information.

HOW TO REGISTER: Register in person at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture by June 7, 2013. To be part of the African Drum and Dance session, participants must be registered for Camp Best Friends at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture.

Questions: For all questions please contact Ina Williams at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture at (404) 635-2990.

Choir (as part of Camp Best Friends)

What: Students will sing and perform in a choir, receive elementary ear training and music theory instruction.

Where: South Bend Center for Art and Culture 1955 Compton Drive Atlanta, GA 30315

When: Weekdays July 1 to July 29

Time: One hour/day during the weekdays. This programming is offered as part of Camp Best Friends, a day camp of the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

Cost: As this programming is part of City of Atlanta’s Camp Best Friends, the City of Atlanta will charge participation fees based on a sliding scale. See contact info below for more information.

HOW TO REGISTER: Register in person at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture by June 28, 2013. To be part of the African Drum and Dance session, participants must be registered for Camp Best Friends at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture.

Questions? Please contact Ina Williams at the South Bend Center for Art and Culture at (404) 635-2990.

]]> http://atlantamusicproject.org/news-features/amp-2013-summer-programming/feed/ 0 http://atlantamusicproject.org/news-features/amp-returns-to-altitude-at-the-w-atlanta/ http://atlantamusicproject.org/news-features/amp-returns-to-altitude-at-the-w-atlanta/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 21:06:31 +0000 AMP http://atlantamusicproject.org/?p=4764 Continue reading →]]> This week our 2013 Spring Concert season comes to a close with our Gilbert House-South Bend Orchestra! The performance venue is the fabulous Altitude Room on the 27th floor of the W Atlanta Midtown Hotel. For those of you who remember, we closed our inaugural season, 2010-2011, at Altitude as well.

Sandra Chambers, the W Atlanta Midtown’s Director of Sales and Marketing welcomes the audience at AMP’s 2011 “AMP at Altitude” Spring Concert. Photo by Carlton Mackey.

We are so fortunate to have the W Atlanta Midtown as a partner and collaborator. The W has been a consistent supporter of the Atlanta Music Project since our very first days, offering concert space, providing accommodations for guest artists and even sending their employees to help with our instrument donation drive.

Altitude sits high above Midtown Atlanta, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Piedmont Park on one side and Midtown Atlanta on the other. The views definitely make you feel as if you are at altitude. Our hard-working students will really enjoy performing at the W.

The audience settles in at the 2011 AMP at Altitude Spring Concert at the W Atlanta Midtown. Photo by Carlton Mackey.

The 2013AMP at Altitude Spring Concert will take place on Sunday May 19 at 2:30. The concert will feature our Gilbert House-South Bend Orchestra led by AMP Conductor, Christopher Thibdeau. The concert will feature the music of the masters: Vivaldi’s Winter, Tchaikovsky’s 1812, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and more!

Our Gilbert House-South Bend Orchestra students have each put in over 300 hours of after-school practice time with AMP (that doesn’t count individual practice time at home), so they can’t wait to show off what they’ve been working on.

Jessica Sherer, AMP’s Lead & Flute Teaching Artist leads the AMP Orchestra at the 2011 AMP at Altitude Spring Concert. Photo by Carlton Mackey.

Tickets are not required and the event is free, however donations are encouraged and appreciated. AMP offers its programming free-of-charge to all participants so every bit of support we receive goes a long way.

A reception with cookies and lemonade will follow the concert. More info on the concert is available on our orchestral concert page. See you  Sunday at 2:30pm for AMP at Altitude II!

Violinist Donovan Fuller (studio of AMP Violin Teaching Artist, Yulmarys Zambrano) performing Perpetual Motion by Suzuki, accompanied by Anita Norman on piano:

Violinist Chantania Shackelford (studio of AMP Violin/Viola Teaching Artist, Catherine Price) performing Song of the Wind, a folk song, also accompanied by Anita Norman on piano:

What is a masterclass?

A masterclass is when an accomplished artist (often a guest artist) gives one student a lesson in front of other students, parents, other teachers and sometimes the general public. For the student in the “hot seat,” the opportunity to play for a big-name artist in front of her peers can be nerve-racking and often requires the same preparation as a concert. The student needs to be well prepared so that the master artist can work on things such as interpretation, musicality and artistry.

The first AMP Academy Masterclass started with our double bass players whose masterclass was led by none other than Joseph Conyers, the Assistant Principal Double Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Joseph hails from Savannah, GA and played in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra before winning his job with the Philly Orchestra. Joseph is also Executive Director of Project 440, an organization using music to engage youth and communities. Finally, Joseph is also an esteemed member of our Board of Advisors here at AMP. Reflecting on his experience with the AMP Academy students Joseph remarked:

The kids were great.  They were very receptive and seemed to take in everything I was trying to tell them.  Generally, they were in great shape.   [The students] had remarkable bow arms for students their age. The biggest thing I enforced was drawing out the sound and bringing personality (energy) to their playing.  Jonathan (AMP Double Bass Teaching Artist) is doing a great job!

Samantha Williams, mother of AMP Academy bassist Joshua Sheperd, said of the masterclass:

It was a pure joy to see [Joseph Conyers] interact with and inspire the budding musicians.

The violin masterclasses were divided between advanced violinists and intermediate violinists. David France, who was a member of the 2012 class of the Sistema Fellows Program and the concertmaster of the YouTube Symphony, led the masterclass for intermediate students. David is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Revolution of Hope, an El Sistema-inspired program in Roxbury, MA. For our advanced violinists, we were able to bring in Domenic Salerni, the First Violinist of the Vega String Quartet. The Vega String Quartet is in residence at the Emory University School of Music. The Viola Masterclass was led by Ben Geller, a section viola player with the Rochester Philharmonic.

Finally, for our Cello Masterclass we were honored to have Martha Gerchefski, formerly on cello faculty at the Georgia State School of Music. Martha is a wonderful artist and master pedagogue, who has worked with Metro Atlanta cello students for many years. In fact, one of our Cello Teaching Artists, Jessica Kornhoff, once studied with Martha Gerchefski herself!

Kelly King, our Lead & Violin/Viola Teaching Artists said of the masterclasses:

These masterclasses were an opportunity for our students to not only become more comfortable playing in front of others, but also an opportunity for them to learn from one another.  So much of it was interactive and so many points were applicable to many students in the room.  These master classes helped feed this ‘community of learning’ we’re trying to create in our program. I knew our students would do well, but they definitely exceeded my expectations!

The 2013 AMP Academy Masterclasses went very well for a first run. We are thankful for the support of our parents and families, many of whom attended the masterclasses and made sure their child practiced for the masterclasses during spring break! Congratulations to our AMP Academy students, who are thriving in this conservatory-level program. Their musical development is rubbing off on other AMP students thereby lifting our program as a whole. Thank you to our guest artists Joseph, Ben, David, Domenic and Martha for spending time with our students and inspiring them to become the best musicians they can be. And of course, thank you to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, who made the AMP Academy a reality through their financial support.

The Atlanta Music Project is proud to announce its 2013 Spring Concert Season. The five concert season features students from all four of AMP’s sites and programs. Concert highlights include performances at Piedmont Park and the W Atlanta Midtown.

Our partners in this spring concert season are  the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, the GA Shakespeare Festival, Ivy Preparatory Academy Kirkwood, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Solidarity Films, LLC and the W Atlanta Midtown.

More detailed information on each concert can be found here on our concert page.

Saturday May 4 4:00PM – AMPlify Choirs perform at Charter School Rocks at Atlantic Station

Saturday May 4 7:00PM – AMPlify Choirs perform at GA Shakespeare Festival at Piedmont Park

Thursday May 9 7:00PM – AMPlify Spring Concert at Salvation Army Kroc Center

Friday May 10 6:00PM – AMP Academy Spring Recital at South Bend Center for Art and Culture

Sunday May 19 2:30PM – AMP Gilbert House-South Bend Orchestra Spring Concert

AMPlify’s R. Nathaniel Dett Concert Choir Rehearses. Photo by Gideon Malitskie.

THE ATLANTA OPERA…
visited AMPlify to present the opera, Stone Soup. Even though the students learned about the art form before the visitors arrived, they were still impressed by how professional yet entertaining the performance was! The visiting artists graciously shared their personal journeys as musicians and answered any and all questions that were presented – a great learning experience!

BRITISH VOCALIST JULIE DEXTER…
presented a workshop, “Discovering Your Voice”, to the Dett Concert Choir. A classically trained artist who composes and produces songs within the Jazz, Soul and Afro-Beat circles, Ms. Dexter inspired AMPlify students to nurture their craft as vocalists and then sang a jazz standard with them. The students can hardly wait for her next visit!

THE AMPlify INAUGURAL CONCERT…
was a huge success!

THE MOREHOUSE CHAPTER OF PHI MU ALPHA…
a music fraternity, was thrilled to visit AMPlify to volunteer. They gave us a great glimpse of what possibilities lie ahead in a life dedicated to music. When I asked them to introduce themselves to the group, this is what they did! Note AMPlify Choral Teaching Artist and Phi Mu Alpha member James Dekle joining in!

DANIEL BEAUREGARD…
of the Dekalb Champion newspaper for publicizing our story. He has been following AMPlify from the very beginning and has already printed two articles on the program!

Come hear AMPlify for yourself! AMPlify’s Spring Concert will be held May 9, 2013 at 7PM at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, located at 967 Dewey Street, SW in Atlanta, GA.

AMPlify’s Marian Anderson Primary Choir performs at the Inaugural Concert. Photo by Anthony Alston/Solidarity Films LLC.

Congratulations AMPlify! After a great introduction to vocal techniques, choral singing, and ensemble basics, AMPlify students conquered the stage to share with the world what they have learned.

The AMPlify Inaugural Concert was held on March 28, 2013, just six weeks after the program launch. An excited audience of parents, families and friends gathered in the Ivy Preparatory Cafe to hear our choral works. From the grandparents in attendance to our tiniest audience member – a 5 week old baby – everyone loved what they heard. Most rewarding was seeing the smiles on parents faces as they nodded heads, sang along and of course, took lots of pictures and videos!

The Marian Anderson Primary Choir, led by James Dekle, set the mood with a rousing rendition of “Joyfully Sing” – sung in THREE parts! They performed like old pros before making room for the R. Nathaniel Dett Concert Choir to take over, conducted by yours truly. All in all, the night was filled with choral favorites, great soloists and even a few surprises – like a Bob Marley classic (see video below)!

To close the evening out, the choirs joined together to perform an inspirational piece titled “The Power of One (Change the World). After all, that is why the program exists in the first place, right?

Anxious for more? Come to AMPlify’s Spring Concert – May 9th at 7PM. Details here.

Joseph Conyers, Assistant Principal Double Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, works with AMP Academy double bassist Alivia Carter. Photo by Anthony Alston/Solidarity Films LLC.

The Atlanta Music Project proudly announces the 2013 AMP Academy Masterclasses, featuring prominent guests artists from around the country. These 2013 AMP Academy Masterclasses are made possible with the support of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

The AMP Academy launched in 2012 and provides advanced musical training for AMP’s most talented and dedicated students. AMP Academy students receive weekly private lessons with AMP Teaching Artists, participate in masterclasses with guests artists and perform solo recitals  and side-by-side concerts with AMP Teaching Artists. The AMP Academy was launched when AMP was awarded a Widening The Stage Grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in 2012.

From April 8, 2013 to April 18, 2013, the below guests artists will lead masterclasses with AMP Academy students. More info can be found here.

April 8 – Joseph Conyers, Double Bass, Philadelphia Orchestra and Project 440

April 15 – Benjamin Geller, Viola, Rochester Philharmonic

April 16 – David France, Violin, Sistema Fellows ’12, Revolution of Hope

April 17 – Domenic Salerni, Violin, First Violinist, Vega String Quartet

April 17 – Martha Gerchefski, Cello, Faculty, Georgia State School of Music