In addition to the excellent musical education our students receive from our two full-time music teachers and a long-standing collaboration with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, there is now an exciting new partnership with the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA). ALJA was founded in 2008 by Grammy-award winning pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill with the goals of developing new audiences for big-band Latin jazz and creating a robust educational program for young performers. This partnership, funded through the generosity of Councilmember Mattieu Eugene, is providing serious musical instruction for about 30 of our students in 4th and 5th grade. Six instruments are being taught and participants are also receiving instruction in music theory. Selection of students took place in November, during school day and with limited spots available, a lottery has been held. All 4th and 5th graders showing real interest in learning new instruments had a chance to participate in the lottery.
We look forward to showcasing ALJA and this exciting genre of music at one of our spring garden concerts!