Grammy Award-Winning Artist & Music Education Advocate to Perform at March 14 Event
Warner Classics artist and Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano and music education advocate, Joyce DiDonato, will be honored at the Harmony Program’s annual Spring Gala this Thursday, March 14, at the Tribeca Rooftop at 2 Desbrosses Street in New York. The Harmony Program, which brings together young musicians from under-served communities across New York City and prominent artists passionate about music education, will award DiDonato for her support of the development of young musicians and her commitment to musical excellence.
“Joyce is an extraordinary talent who commands any room with her immaculate and powerful voice. I’m delighted to see her being honored with the Harmony Program Award, and happy to support the nonprofit’s important work,” said Eliah Seton, President of Independent Music & Creator Services, Warner Music Group, and member of the Harmony Program Board of Directors.
“The Harmony Program is delighted to honor Joyce DiDonato this year, not only for her vocal artistry but for her passionate advocacy for music education,” said Harmony Program Founder and Executive Director, Anne Fitzgibbon. “No doubt the highlight of our gala evening will be our tiniest new choral students sharing the stage with her in a performance they will never forget.”
A celebration of music’s capacity to build and strengthen community, the Warner Music Group-sponsored event will feature a performance by DiDonato, who will join the Harmony Program’s first-grade chorus from Public School 349 in Jamaica, Queens for a rendition of “Simple Gifts.” The performance will be accompanied on piano by gala host Rob Kapilow, who will also join DiDonato to close the night with “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” along with a Harmony Program Youth Orchestra.
Additionally, the Harmony Program All Star Chamber Orchestra will perform an arrangement of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train,” conducted by Kapilow and accompanied by Simon Mulligan on piano; and three Harmony Program violin students – Angelo Chery, Christele Cherestal, and Luigi Auquilla – will perform Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Concerto for Four Violins No. 2.”
Past Harmony Program Award recipients include Plácido Domingo, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Joshua Bell, Sir André Previn, and The New York Philharmonic.
Warner Classics is part of Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division, which focuses on signing, developing, and marketing artists and releases across genres – from musical theatre and classical, to jazz and children’s music, to soundtracks and mood music.
About the Harmony Program:
For the past decade, the Harmony Program has brought musical training into under-served communities across New York City. Since its founding, the Harmony Program has reached over 1,000 students, trained over 300 musicians as teachers, and provided over 350,000 hours of music instruction with the goal of building life skills and community through a shared love of music. Its model and impact have been featured in national press, including the PBS NewsHour, ABC World News Tonight, and the CBS Evening News.
A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Harmony Program is beginning its second decade of service by expanding its reach into new communities; broadening the scope of its programming to include instrumental, choral, and general music instruction; and establishing formal scholarships to ensure ongoing opportunities for program alumni to study and perform.
About Warner Music Group:
With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Elektra, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’, Warner Bros., Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville, as well as Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world’s leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide.
