Brooklyn Tech High School to host 5-borough youth rock symphony Concert

April 22, 2013 From Electrify Your Music Foundation/Workman Entertainment

MW with Students9.jpeg

Share this:

Electrify Your Music Foundation, a new non-profit dedicated to revitalizing underfunded public school music programs, announces its first major fundraising and launch event – The 5-Borough Youth Rock Symphony – to take place on April 26 at Brooklyn Technical High School Theater in Fort Greene.

The organization, founded by Emmy Award-winning composer, electric violinist and music education advocate Mark Wood, is based on the success of his Electrify Your Strings! curriculum which has already been brought into hundreds of less privileged public schools throughout America’s heartland over the past 12 years. The program has raised close to a million dollars and continues to expose students to the great cultural opportunities that might not otherwise be available to them.

For the foundation’s launch event, over 200 city music students from six New York City public schools, representing each borough, will come together for an electrified rock symphony performance. The student orchestra, along with Mark Wood, will perform his distinctive arrangements of the music of Led Zeppelin, Aaron Copland, The Beatles, and Vivaldi. Special guests will be announced shortly.

“It’s not about turning students into professional musicians – though if that’s the path they choose, great,” remarked EYM Founder, Mark Wood. “It’s about empowering them to dream big, take chances, and break down barriers so that they can achieve success in any field.”

The seven participating schools are: Fort Hamilton High School and Brooklyn Technical High School representing Brooklyn, Talent Unlimited High School representing Manhattan, Celia Cruz High School representing the Bronx, Bayside High School representing Queens, Curtis High School representing Staten Island and Westbury High School representing Long Island.

The Electrify Your Music Foundation’s mission is to change children’s lives by inspiring creative, innovative, and confident thinking. The foundation also seeks to connect imagination and intellect through the power of music. Funds raised from this event will help bring programs like EYS to schools across the country with underfunded or lacking music programs. By providing instruments for student musicians and orchestras, and offering music scholarships and grants, the Electrify Your Music Foundation hopes to make the future brighter for these student musicians.

“It is exciting to see initiatives that augment the programs we offer at the Department of Education and the creative ways that public and private efforts work together to assure that our children have fulfilling music educations,” remarked Barbara A. Murray, Director of Music of the New York City Department of Education.

“Having EYS at my school changed the way my students think about their instruments and how to play them. Mark’s enthusiasm for what he brings to the table is electric and contagious,” said Barry Stern, Orchestra Director at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, NY. “As a violist and an orchestra teacher, it was inspiring and thought provoking when considering best practices. We can’t wait for the next time!!”

The 5-Borough Youth Rock Symphony will take place on April 26 at 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn Technical High School Theater is located at 29 Fort Greene Place in Fort Greene.

To purchase tickets or donate, visit electrifyyourmusic.eventbrite.com