This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Harmony Program, an organization that brings free instrumental music education into under-served communities across New York City and Long Island. Over the past ten years, the Harmony Program has provided over 1,000 children with free instruments and over 350,000 hours of music instruction.
The Harmony Program was created in 2003 by Anne Fitzgibbon as a pilot program within the New York City Mayor's office. Anne was later awarded a year long. Fulbright Fellowship in 2007 to study El Sisterma, Venezuela's world-renowned national youth orchestra program, and adapted tenets of that successful model to meet the needs of children and families in New York.
Harmony Program's 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert celebrated Harmony Program's decade-long deliverance of quality music education directly into communities who need it most, providing students with free instruments, intensive music instruction, orchestral training, and a variety of transformational cultural experiences. Year after year, their students emerge from the program with life-long friendships, increased self-confidence, and improved academic achievement - all from a shared love of music.
Harmony Program hosted their 10th anniversary gala and benefit concert this month with students as they play alongside Grammy-award winning violinist Joshua Bell, Grammy-award nominated producer and curista Jorge Glem, New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, string trio Time for Three, and soprano Larisa Martinez, to name just a few.
Warner Musi Group was the lead sponsor of the gala and has supported the work of Harmony Program in the past, most recently with its inaugural Warner Music Prize, which seeks to foster the talents of promising young musicians. Warner is committed to strengthening the relationship between the two organizations.
Read more from the April Issue and see In Harmony in mag.