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News
Lost Dog Finds Home at BMS
February, 2008
 Brookline
Music School had a special four-legged visitor last Monday,
according to a BMS parent. Kate Roach, along with her daughters Logan
and Haley, watched as a rambunctious pooch snuck through the front door
of Kennard House and ran straight up the stairs, then parked herself right in
front of the door to Studio B.
"You could
tell the dog knew the school and wanted to get in there," Kate
commented.
When she found
that no one in the building knew the poodle, Kate took her
home and called the police, who were already on the lookout for the dog,
named Pepper.
As it turns
out, Pepper belongs to David Nalven and Jill Goldman, Chestnut Hill residents
whose two daughters have taken
lessons at the School for ten years, often times with Pepper in tow. Pepper was
reported missing earlier in the day after she
slipped away from her dog walker, and somehow found her way to the Music
School, nearly 4 miles away.
David, Jill,
and their daughters Sarah and Claire are ecstatic that Pepper is safely back
home. David Nalven has no idea how
Pepper found the School, but said, "She must have known she was among friends.
We are so grateful to the Roach family for
rescuing Pepper and tracking us down. As for Pepper, at least for the last
couple of days anyway, she has seemed more
content to listen to the radio at home than to search out the live music venues
around town."
Brookline
Music School would like to thank the Roach family for their kindness, and the
Nalven/Goldman family for sharing their story.
(Above: photo of Pepper by Sarah Nalven)
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Suzuki Flute Institute a Success!
January, 2008
 Over
75 flute students, teachers and parents gathered at Brookline Music School for a
two-day Suzuki Flute Workshop last month. Participants came from as far away as
New
Mexico, while others were from Cape Cod, western Mass, Connecticut and New York.
Students participated in masterclasses and beginner & advanced ensembles while
focusing
on tone, jazz and extended techniques. Lunches were available for purchase from
City Feed
in Jamaica Plain, and the event was rounded out by an ice cream sundae and pool
party at
Holiday Inn in Brookline.
Thank you to Suzuki and Winds Dept. Coordinator, Amy Poliakoff, for organizing
this
event, as well as to the teachers and participants for helping make it a
success.
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BMS Students Honored and will Perform at 2008 Grammy Awards
December, 2007
Jake Sherman,
a piano student of Doug Johnson and former jazz ensembles student of John
Purcell, was one of 144
applicants (out of 7800) selected as a finalist in the National Foundation for
Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) youngARTS
Award. Jake will be flown to Miami to participate in youngARTS week from January
7-13, where he will audition and be
interviewed for the chance to be named a 2008 Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
He will also receive a monetary award.
As a finalist
in the Jazz Music Category, Jake was also selected as a Clifford Brown/Stan Getz
All-Star. Along with this
honor he will be flown to Toronto during the latter part of youngARTS week to
participate and perform at the International
Association of Jazz Educators Conference (IAJE).
Grace Kelly,
a piano student of Doug Johnson, will be presented with an
ASCAP
Foundation 2007 Young Jazz Composers
Award on December 12 in New York. She has been
asked to perform her winning song Every Road I Walked at the Awards
ceremony. The presentation
will highlight the 12th Annual ASCAP Foundation Awards Reception to be held at
The Allen
Room,
Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. The
invitation-only event will honor a variety of
Scholarship
and Award recipients, all of whom benefit from programs of The ASCAP Foundation.
They're Going to the Grammy Awards!
Both students have also been selected to be in the 2008 Gipson/Baldwin
Grammy Jazz Ensembles, which means they will fly to
L.A. in February and perform at the Grammy Awards.
http://www.grammyintheschools.com
Congratulations Jake and Grace!
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Drums, Dancing and More!
July, 2007
 In
July, the place to be in the late afternoons was the Brookline Housing Authority
playground
serving the Egmont and Trustman apartments. Nearly 50 children and
teens ages 6 to 16 learned
to sing, dance and play the drums in Brookline Music
School's collaboration with BHA and Steps to
Success,
an
educational achievement
program providing academic, social
development and family
support services to low-income
students and their
families. The Summer Sizzle program offered a
Hip Hop class, a Voice
Jam,
and a Drumming Circle using African and Latin American hand drums.
And
what did the kids think?
"I like the drums - it's the best instrument."
"I feel talented!"
"I sound musical and feel like...a star."
The
Summer Sizzle program was made possible through a grant from the
Brookline
Community Foundation.
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Sgt.
Pepper Concert in Brookline TAB and Boston Globe!
May 17, 2007
View Pictures of the event
Read our
article in the Brookline TAB
Read our article in the Boston Globe
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School
Awarded Grant from the Brookline Community Foundation
May 2007
The Brookline Community Foundation recently awarded a $3,700 grant to Brookline
Music School to fund a music program that supports children, teens and seniors
living in Brookline Housing Authority residences. Beginning this summer,
Meet the Instruments will provide families with the opportunity to hear,
touch, and play a wide variety of instruments; Summer Sizzle, a program
for teens, will offer two classes per week, one a Hip Hop Dance and Voice Jam,
and the other a Drumming Circle using African and Latin American hand drums; and
The Senior Concert Series will provide a monthly lunchtime concert at
three Brookline Housing Authority residences that house seniors.
Carol Spritz, Brookline Music
School’s Director of Development, commented, “This grant will provide
outstanding music lessons and concerts to families and seniors who might not
otherwise have that opportunity. We are delighted that the Brookline Community
Foundation has made this program possible.”
The above programs are supported by a
grant from the
Brookline Community Foundation
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BMS Student Wins Flute Competition
March, 2007
Brookline Music School
flute student, Brendan Ryan, has won the most prestigious high school flute
competition in all
of New England - The New England String Ensemble Flute Concerto
Competition. As the first place winner, Brendan
won a $500 scholarship and the honor of performing as concerto soloist
with NESE in Jordan Hall. This year, the
competition judges were both retired BSO flutists: the esteemed Fenwick
Smith and the legendary Doriot Anthony Dwyer.
The competition was open to all high school flutists in New England.
Brendan is a student of Judy Grant.
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BMS Awarded Two Exemplary
Grants
This year, Brookline Music School was awarded two
outstanding grants: The
Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) awarded the School an organizational
support grant of $21,500 per year for three years, and gave the school an
exemplary rating. The Edith Glick Shoolman
Children’s Foundation awarded the School a grant of $10,000 per year for three
years to fund the expansion of Musical Horizons, a music and movement program
for children in the Horizons for Homeless Children Program. The School currently
teaches at Horizons’ Jamaica Plain location, and the grant will allow us to
expand the program to the Dorchester and Roxbury locations, tripling the number
of children served per year. Jeanne Rintell, Early Childhood Specialist at BMS,
has been teaching the Musical Horizons program for two years and is excited to
share the benefits of music with even more children. Jeanne comments, "The
children can be tired or stressed, and their lives are complicated. Yet, during
the music classes, they are tuned in, excited about singing and playing musical
games, and can't wait to participate.”
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BSO Concertmaster, Malcolm
Lowe, Performs for BMS Celebration
June 4, 2006
BROOKLINE – On Sunday, June 4, 2006, Malcolm Lowe, violinist and
Concertmaster of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his pianist son, Brenden Lowe, performed
for an intimate
gathering of music lovers to honor the educational achievements of
Brookline Music School.
“This recital was a rare treat for a rainy Sunday afternoon,” said
Valerie Nelson, Executive
Director of the School.
The afternoon event was held at the home of
Robert and Megan O’Block. Robert serves as
Vice Chairman of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Trustees, while
Megan is actively
involved with Brookline Music School, where she has been a member of the
Board of Directors
for two years.
In addition to his position at the BSO, Malcolm Lowe
is a member of the New England Conservatory faculty. His son, Brenden, is a
former
Brookline Music School student and recent graduate of The New School in New York
City.
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BMS Jazz Quintet at Carnegie Hall
May 29, 2006, New York City
After demonstrating outstanding artistry and
musicianship on April 9, 2006 and winning First Prize in the Jazz/Folk category
at the 2nd International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition
(sponsored by the Chamber Music Foundation of New England,
http://www.cmfone.org/), the BMS Jazz Quintet moved onto the next phase of
the competition, which was at Carnegie Hall on May 29.
The performance at Carnegie Hall was part of the Grand Prize Winners
competition, where fifteen classical and jazz ensembles competed for a cash
prize and the opportunity to perform at the Chamber Music Foundation of New
England Concert Series for the 2006-2007 Season. Though they did not win,
the Quintet was honored to be selected to perform at Carnegie Hall.
The BMS Jazz Quintet comprises Jake Sherman
(piano), Nicky Schwartz (bass), Alex Chaloff (drums), Andrew Jacoff (trumpet)
and Grace Kelly (sax), and is directed by John Purcell, the School’s Jazz
Ensemble Coordinator.
BMS Jazz Quintet (Grace Kelly, Andrew Jacoff, Nicky Schwartz,
Jake Sherman, Alex Chaloff)
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