This traditional Turkish welcome was extended to the 400 New York City public school students and their teachers who filled Zankel Hall on December 15. The New York audience and performers were video-linked with their counterparts in Istanbul for the first of four Carnegie Hall Cultural Exchange concerts that link New York with Istanbul, and New York with New Delhi during the 2008–2009 season.

Since October of this year, students in the US and in Turkey have been communicating with each other as part of a specially produced online community. Throughout this uplifting event students in both locations got the opportunity to speak with each other, "face-to-face," around the theme of "structure and freedom" in music and life.

Students in New York performed with the Maurice Brown Effect, while students in Turkey simultaneously performed traditional Turkish music with Selim Sesler and his group. The audiences sang, clapped, and danced the whole way through this concert that brought the curtain down on the first semester of Carnegie Hall Cultural Exchange.

Learn more about Carnegie Hall Cultural Exchange here.

Hundreds of school children, and their teachers, poured into Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall last week to participate in the fall concert series as part of Musical Explorers: My City, My Song.

They were entertained and educated by Weill Music Institute staff; Gregory Rahming, a classically-trained opera and gospel singer from Harlem; Falu, an Indian vocalist from Manhattan's Little India; and Anne-Marie Hildebrandt, an Irish musician from Woodside, Queens. That the children have been learning songs and musical concepts in their classrooms became clear as they sang along with obvious delight and enthusiasm during the concerts, with Irish tunes, Indian melodies and spirituals belted out with gusto.

Learn more about Musical Explorers here.

The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall announced the formation of a multiyear collaborative partnership with PS 161 in Upper Manhattan, and the New York City Department of Education, creating a Blueprint Model School of The Weill Music Institute for students in grades pre-kindergarten through sixth.

Embodying The Weill Music Institute's mission to create wide-reaching music education programs, this groundbreaking initiative will develop curriculum and teaching practices that will eventually generate a template for other premier arts organizations and schools.

The focus of this partnership will be the use of the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music. Created in 2004 and revised in 2008 by the New York Department of Education and members of the New York City cultural community, the Blueprint outlines a comprehensive, standards-based approach to music education for every student in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Weill Music Institute has selected PS 161 as its partner due to the school's demonstrated commitment to high quality music education. Over the past six years, PS 161 has participated in CarnegieKids (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten); Musical Explorers (grades one and two); LinkUP! (grades three through five); and The Rite of Spring Project, a major creative learning project during 2007's Berlin in Lights festival. These programs will be further enhanced by weekly visits from teaching artists and professional development workshops for teachers.

Integral to the program's launch has been a new partnership between Carnegie Hall and Yamaha Corporation of America. Starting this month, Yamaha will produce recorders bearing the Carnegie Hall name for sale nationwide. Future proceeds are being used to fund more than 100 new Yamaha instruments for PS 161's music department, including 10 flutes, 15 clarinets, 10 alto saxophones, eight trumpets, two drum sets, and 65 string instruments. "Through the dedication of the many educators and partners involved in this collaboration, we're sure that more and more of PS 161's students will get to experience the joy of making music," said Sarah Johnson, Director of The Weill Music Institute.

"In any school across New York City you hear all kinds of sounds," said Pamela Price-Haynes, Assistant Principal at PS 161. "You may hear chairs being moved across the floor, doors closing, children running, talking, and laughing, but here at PS 161, we hear music played by our students. How special is that?"

In the 2008–2009 season, more than 4,000 first- and second-grade students experience the joy of making music while also exploring the diverse cultures and neighborhoods found throughout New York City. Students learn songs from different cultures and traditions, examine how music can tell stories and bring communities together, and experiment with the sounds of different languages.

Musical Explorers: My City, My Song introduces children to three local musicians each semester. This fall, students meet Gregory Rahming, a classically-trained opera and gospel singer from Harlem; Falu, an Indian vocalist from Manhattan's Little India; and Anne-Marie Hildebrandt, an Irish musician from Woodside, Queens. In the spring, students will meet three performers who represent classical voice, as well as Eastern European and South African vocal traditions.

Through lessons and activities of Musical Explorers, students learn the stories of the daily lives and neighborhoods of the musicians. Students also learn music fundamentals, such as melodic contour and scales, age-appropriate vocal technique, and rhythms. They are encouraged to make connections with the artists' lives by sharing details about themselves and their own New York City communities, and write to the artists throughout the year.

Each semester, students attend one of eight interactive concerts in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. The concerts feature individual performances, as well as a group performance, by the semester's artists, and thus provided students with the experience of different communities and people uniting through song.

Join us as we explore the voice—the instrument we are born with—and discover the diverse heritage of song and musical tradition in New York City. Learn more »