With the rise and fall of this cityis economy, itis the ilittle thingsi that can get lostOelike art and music. In many schools in the City of Buffalo, students do not have formal art or music classes (or phys ed.) until third or fourth grade. Young Audiences of Western New York, Inc.(YA-WNY) is providing opportunities for these kids, and many more, to learn about and experience the arts through auditorium performances, long-term curriculum based residencies, and hands-on workshops in schools and community centers.
YA-WNY serves the eight counties of Western New York, and provides as many as 10 or 15 programs a day in schools and community organizations. Their mission? iTo make the visual, performing, and literary arts a part of young peopleis lives in order to enhance their development as creative and productive human beings.i Sounds pretty good to me. The teaching artists and staff at Young Audiences understand the value of learning in the arts has for children. They are building future audiences for our vital cultural organizations. With nearly 130,000 artist contacts for children and families each year, YA-WNY makes the arts accessible to young people regardless of economic, social or geographic limitations. No child ever has to pay for a YA-WNY program.
On Wednesday, June 8th, Young Audiences will celebrate 43 years of service to Western New York with their Annual Benefit Dinner, “Follow the Sun!” at Harryis Harbour Place Grille, starting at 6:00 pm. This year’s dinner honorees are Dr. Thomas Jambro, educator, administrator and artist, and Jerry Raven, musician and teaching artist, for their ongoing commitment to learning in and through the arts and the young people of Western New York. The Stringmen, Doug Yeomans and Geoffrey Fitzhugh Perry will play at the event. Tickets are $85, and the event includes a silent auction, hors d’oeuvre, wine, dinner and dessert. For further information, call 881-0917, visit www.yawny.org, or email
info@yawny.org.
Check out this Flickr slideshow including images from YA-WNYis NYSCA funded Empire State Partnership with Waterfront School, with images of Arts Day, a peformance by the Stringmen, and children working together writing poems. The Phonics Program: Alphabet Awareness residency, also at Waterfront shows students working on music and dance with Jerry Raven and Kip Ralabate, and making a Phonics Quilt with Cynnie Gaasch. A residency titled iHave You Ever Listened to a Drawing?i shows cellist Nancy Baun working with children and their families at Tapestry Charter School. iSilhouettesi brought Cornelia Dohse-Peck to the Baird Boys and Girls Club last summer for a large-scale visual arts project.
Young Audiences Annual Benefit Dinner: Follow the Sun!
Harryis Harbour Place Grille
Silent Auction, Hors d’Oeuvre, Wine, Dinner and Dessert
Wednesday, June 8th 6:00 pm.
Tickets are $85
Tel: 881-0917
Web: www.yawny.org
Email: info@yawny.org
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