(January 29, 2020) Winter at the Academy of the Arts is in full swing, with the return and hosting of Poetry Out Loud’s Regional Contest at the Count Basie Center and our School of Music students taking part in a multitude of performances, the Academy is as busy as ever!

Monster Concert at Brookdale

Last week, Thursday, January 23^rd, Monmouth conservatory instructor Bernice Cooperman and her student Ava Deady performed at the 22nd annual Monster Concert at Brookdale Community College Performing Arts Center, hosted by the Cecilian Music Club. This extravaganza was comprised of 186 students and 29 teachers who performed on 16 beautiful Steinway and Boston pianos in an all-duet concert sponsored by Jacob’s Music Company.  Congratulations Ava Deady and Benice Cooperman!

Poetry Out Loud

The Count Basie Center for the Arts is hosting New Jersey’s Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties regional Poetry Out Loud competition on February 4th for a fourth year in a row. 22 students are anticipated to compete; the most the Basie has ever hosted!

Through precise diction, deep understanding of the text and creative interpretations, competing students are expected to perform at their very best for a chance to move on to the state level competition which will be held at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on March 17th. To learn more click here.

 

 

Red Bank Tour with the Orchestra

Red Bank Borough Public Schools and the Basie’s Monmouth Conservatory present Red Bank Tour with the Orchestra on February 1st at 2PM at Red Bank Middle School. This is a special community concert celebrating the success of our string students in the Red Bank area.  The concert will include a community ensemble experience where students of all ages and levels come together and perform well-known music literature. Incredibly many of these Red Bank students have never picked up a violin before, and after only a couple of weeks, they are able to play through several songs.

“I’m happy to report that the program is running beautifully this year. The kids are highly engaged and they already love to perform. At the beginning of each class, the children tell me how hard they have been practicing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Mary Had a Little Lamb and even their scales. Our classes also have incredibly supportive parents and they’ve been a pleasure to work with” said Laura Petillo, Violin/Viola Instructor, Monmouth Conservatory at the Academy of the Arts.

The Monmouth Conservatory Orchestra will be performing with 3rd and 5th grade group violin students lead by Bettina Forbes and Laura Petillo.