 Enjoy an afternoon of music at the Birmingham Museum of Art on Sunday, June 23rd. The concert will feature the Red Mountain Chamber Players playing music by classical black composers in conjunction with Birmingham's 50 Years Forward celebration. The music will be interspersed with readings from Sena Jeter Naslund's novel Four Spirits. The concert begins at 3:00 p.m. in the Steiner Auditorium. Contact Suzanne Beaudry with questions.
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 Vote for the Music Opportunity Program as 'Best Kids Music Lessons' in Birmingham Magazine's Best of Birmingham poll. There are lots of categories so share your thoughts about the best food, music, and more!
Voting ends July 1st. Click HERE to cast your vote!  Help Brighton Collectibles Support Kids' Arts Programs Across America From May 24th to July 31st, the Brighton Collectibles store at the Summit is participating in the "Give Back to Kids" initiative. Buy certain items and 50% of the sales will support local arts programs for kids including the Music Opportunity Program! Premiere Party! Join us on Sunday, June 2nd at Brighton Collectibles in The Summit from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for a special event. To kick off the "Give Back to Kids" campaign, Brighton is hosting a Shop for Charity event. 20% of ALL purchases will be given to charities including the Music Opportunity Program. Invite friends and family. RSVP on Facebook HERE. This week MOP hosted two recitals for our after-school string classes. For many of these students, it was their first performance. The selections ranged from "Twinkle Twinkle" to Bach and Dvorak. Congratulations to all of these students on their hard work and success! We hope to see each of these youngsters back next year. 
Mr. Merryman's students on Monday, May 13, 2013
Mrs. Pipkin's students on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Congratulations to the 2013 graduating seniors of the Alabama Youth Symphony
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Gerald "Gerry" Rosenbaum on Sunday, May 5th. Gerry, along with his wife Doris, were great supporters of MOP. Both musicians themselves, they spent countless hours helping MOP students learn and grow. Gerry was a member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He also served as concertmaster of the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra for six years.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 7th at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Beth-El. The family requests that donations in Gerald's memory e made to Temple Beth-El or the Jewish National Fund Tree Planting Center. May is easily the busiest month of the year at MOP. We finish out the school year with a bang. Classes end. Instruments are collected. We hold auditions for next year's youth orchestras. But the most exciting (and stressful) part of May? RECITALS.
We present 8 separate recitals in May: 1 - Birmingham String Orchestra and Birmingham Prelude Strings Spring Concert 1 - Alabama Youth Symphony Spring Concert 2 - String Academy recitals for students in our after-school string classes 4 - Solo and Ensemble recitals open to ANY student musician Are we gluttons for punishment? Maybe, but that's not why we hold so many events. We have these concerts for the students. We want as many people as possible to showcase their talents and savor their hard work paying off. We want audience members, old and young, to enjoy different kinds of music and tunes they have never heard before. We know that music education is important - it's why we're here. But part of learning to play an instrument is having opportunities to perform. It gives students a goal to work towards and a sense of accomplishment when that goal is met. It teaches students how to deal with pressure and nerves. For many students - our recitals are the only opportunity they will have to perform in a nice recital hall with a qualified accompanist and an engaged audience. The receptions we hold after each event? Those aren't intended to help us stock up on potato chips for the summer. The receptions allow our performers and the audience to interact and engage. The receptions give student performers the opportunity to hear from their grandparents, teachers, friends, etc. about how wonderful they sounded. The brownies are just a bonus. All of this to say.... we hope you will join us for a concert this year. You can find the full listing of our May events HERE. Come and enjoy an afternoon of music while supporting local students. Your attendance will have a greater impact than you can imagine. ~Jennifer Warren Questions? Email me HERE. As you can see our website is back up and operating. For now you can find us at: musicop.weebly.com. Soon we will be back home at www.musicop.org! School closings will be announced on our Facebook page so check there to see if your class is canceled today. Auditions for the 2013-14 youth orchestras will be held May 20-25. Email Mr. Merryman at merrymanp@gmail.com for a registration form or audition requirements. Audition times are on a first-come, first-served basis so don't wait to schedule your audition! 
 March is Music In Our Schools Month!
Why is that important? Here's Joshua Bell, a world-renown violinist, to explain why this month matters. For more information about Joshua Bell, visit his website. To support MOP and continue our mission of bringing music into Birmingham area schools, please donate here.  March is Music In Our Schools Month!
Music programs nationwide are in danger. State and local legislators are attempting to make up for funding shortfalls in this difficult economy by cutting education budgets, which can place music at risk. Music In Our Schools Month – March 2013 – is a perfect time to get involved and do your part to ensure that America’s students have access to a comprehensive, sequential music education taught by exemplary music educators! Adapted from the National Association for Music Education Support music in our schools by contributing to MOP today! Click on the Donate page in the menu above and do your part to help music education continue. |
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