FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie English, 267-974-1250
Donation Drive for Phila School Children in PYO’s Tune Up Philly
Phila after-school classical music education program is calling for monetary and instrument donations to support students at People for People Charter School.
Philadelphia, PA – October 20, 2011 (Download PDF). Maestro Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization (PYO), today announced that PYO’s Tune Up Philly is asking the general public of the Tri-State region to support its after-school classical music education program by donating used instruments or funds. All instruments must be in working order, Tune Up Philly will also accept instrument cases in good condition.
PYO’s Tune Up Philly at the People For People Charter School at Broad St. and Brown St. in Philadelphia is designed to nurture urban, economically disadvantaged children through weekday, out-of-school hours, classical musical instruction.
The program is seeking instruments like violins, violas, cellos, flutes, trumpets, trombones and more, as well as tax-deductible contributions:
- $4,000 donation sponsors a student's tuition for a full year of Tune Up Philly; $2,000 donation sponsors a student's tuition for a half a year of Tune Up Philly;
- $1,000 donation helps to repair old and purchase new instruments;
- $225 donation will purchase method books for 30 Tune Up Philly students;
- $75 dollar donation purchases a set of strings for one entire Tune Up Philly violin class; and
- $50 donation purchases 40 clarinet reeds for the Tune Up Philly clarinet studio.
To make a donation, call 215-545-0502 or email tup@pyos.org.
“The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is calling on the general public to look through their attics and closets for instruments that will help change the lives of young children,” said Maestro Louis Scaglione. “A financial contribution to PYO’s Tune Up Philly will have an immediate impact on the children currently involved at the People for People Charter School.”
“We are amazed at how talented and driven our students at People for People Charter School are,” said Tune Up Philly Director Delia Raab-Snyder. “We need the support of the public to ensure that these deserving children and their peers all have the opportunity to participate in programs like this.”
Tune Up Philly commenced in September 2010; its second year began October 3, 2011. Instructed by nine local, professional musicians, the students in Tune Up Philly train five days a week during the school year, with concentrations in woodwind, brass, strings, choral and general music education. The program holds quarterly concerts, which are free and open to the public.
About the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra: Founded in 1939, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is one of the nation’s oldest community music education and youth orchestra performance programs for gifted and talented students from the Tri-State region. Lead by Maestro Louis Scaglione, the organization’s flagship ensemble, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), provides the most talented students with advanced orchestral training and performance opportunities throughout the concert season. PYO’s companion ensembles include the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), formed in 1996; Bravo Brass, added to the program in 2003; Philadelphia Region Youth String Music (PRYSM) created in 2007; and the Musicopia String Orchestra partnership, which began in 2008. Young musicians from ages six through 21 are selected by competition audition and have represented the United States on five continents. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization offers classical musical performances to the Greater Philadelphia region each year and supports musical education to children from Philadelphia’s more vulnerable neighborhoods through its newest after-school program launched in 2010, Tune Up Philly.
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