Tuesday night, May 3^rd will be one to remember for the students, parents, teaching artists, and audience members in attendance for “AMP AT ALTITUDE”, AMP’s first-ever spring concert. AMP at Altitude took place at the W Atlanta Midtown’s Altitude room – a beautiful space located on the 27^th floor of the hotel, with views of Midtown Atlanta and Piedmont Park. Attendees included Mr. and Mrs. Kwanza Hall, City Councilman for District 2, Board Chair and Co-Founder, Al Myers, and several members of the AMP Board of Directors and Advisors.

The event opened at 7pm with Councilman Hall presenting a Proclamation to Atlanta Music Project Co-Founders Dantes Rameau and Al Myers, on behalf of the Atlanta City Council, in recognition for the great work that the Atlanta Music Project is doing to bring about positive social change for Atlanta’s at-risk youth.

Following the proclamation, the AMP students took the stage, looking poised and professional in black and white concert attire. They opened the show with two choral selections under the direction of Choral Teaching Artist Aisha Bowden. The students showed marked musical progress, first in the selection “The Water is Wide,” a traditional English folk song, and second in the jazz standard “Route 66.” A couple of students even showed off their improvisation skills as they scatted solos during Route 66! As Executive Director, Dantes Rameau, explained in his opening remarks, participating in a choir alongside the orchestral program allows students to learn cooperation and musicianship while having fun. This is an essential ingredient in the El Sistema approach; the students experience musical success early on in the choir program, while they simultaneously confront the challenge of learning to play an instrument in the orchestra.

After leaving the stage to quickly gather their instruments, the students returned for the orchestra segment of the program. Led by Teaching Artists Dr. Jackie Pickett, Jessica Sherer and Elizabeth Oladele, they performed four works, all arranged by the Teaching Artists: “Old MacFiddle” (J. Higgins), “Largo” (Dvorak), “Trumpet Tune” (Purcell), and finally, Song of Brotherhood (Beethoven) – arguably the crowd favorite! Student Kamali Brooks performed as Concertmaster, and 10 of AMP’s music mentors – in this case all from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta – performed with the students as well.

With the program completed, students, staff, and audience members enjoyed a complimentary reception with hors d’oeuvres provided by the W hotel and drinks courtesy of Fuze. Reve Productions filmed the event and My True Vision Photography provided photography.

The Atlanta Music Project could not do what it does without the generous support of its partners, sponsors, community members, and donors. Special thanks to this event’s sponsors: Premier Logic, 755 Restaurant Corporation and Social People TV. Special thanks to Karen Hunt, for the use of her timpani. Lastly, a big thank you to the W Atlanta Midtown for hosting the Atlanta Music Project’s Spring Concert.

POST CREDIT:
Written By: Monica Morse