Thanks to everyone for making the 2013 Showcase Recital a success! The students played beautifully! We had a great audience and a delicious reception following the concert. 

We will be posting pictures and videos - if you have something to share, please email it to us at MusicOpportunityProgram@gmail.com!

We hope to see you at the Showcase Recital this weekend! 

All rehearsals and the concert will be held in Boutwell Auditorium (1930 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd, Birmingham, 35203). Parking is available on the street an in the adjacent parking deck. Please allow time to find parking and ensure that you are not late!

Here is the schedule for the Showcase Recital weekend:
Saturday, March 2nd:
8:45-11:00 Alabama Youth Symphony Rehearsal
11:00-11:45 Birmingham String Orchestra Rehearsal
11:45-12:15 BSO Honors Group Rehearsal
12:15-1:00 Birmingham Prelude Strings Rehearsal
1:00-3:00 String Academy Rehearsal (string class groups)

Sunday, March 3rd:
2:00 All students arrive to tune/warm up
3:00 SHOWCASE RECITAL BEGINS

The annual Showcase Recital will be Sunday, March 3rd at 3:00 p.m. The recital will be held at the Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, 35203.

This event, our largest annual concert, features students aged 8-18. Students from across the Music Opportunity Program and the Birmingham metropolitan area will come together to present an afternoon of music.

For some performers, this will be their first time in front of an audience. The three MOP youth orchestras will perform as well. One student from the Birmingham Prelude Strings orchestra and one from the Alabama Youth Symphony were selected by competitive audition to present solo works accompanied by the Alabama Youth Symphony. 

This FREE concert is brought to you by the Music Opportunity Program Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to bringing music education to children across the area. We hope to see you at the Showcase Recital this Sunday!

Congratulations, again, to all of the students that were selected and participated in All State Orchestra this weekend! The concert was a great success!

The 2013 All State Orchestra Festival has begun! The annual event, hosted by the Alabama Orchestra Association, brings students from across the state together to rehearse and perform orchestral literature.

Jennifer Warren, Business Director at MOP, was featured in the Birmingham Business Journal. Ms. Warren will chair the Programs and Education committee of the Alabama Social Media Association. 

MOP's very own Jennifer Warren will be leading the Alabama Social Media Association in 2013. Click here for the ALsocme press release. 

The AYS winter concert was a success! Thanks to everyone who came out and supported our young musicians. 

These students performed orchestral literature including Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" and Rossini's "Barber of Seville" overture.

If you have photos or videos of the concert you'd like share, head over to our Facebook page and post them on our wall!

Jimmie Hess – A Tribute 

It is with great sorrow that the Music Opportunity Program (MOP) mourns the loss of a dear family member, Mrs. Emil Hess.  Mrs. Hess, whose given name was Shirley, was long known by her nickname “Jimmie”. She was a current and longtime MOP board member, benefactor and friend to this program.  Mrs. Hess moved to Birmingham after World War II with her late husband of 55 years, Emil Hess.  Described by her family as her husband Emil’s silent partner in the family business Parisian, Mrs. Hess was also very active in the community.

Jimmie first became involved with MOP at its inception as the Alabama Symphony Education Division.  She was, from the beginning, both a benefactor and board member.  She started the Sidney Seidenman fund in honor of her father, a violinist, to provide instruments for young string students.  Her commitment to music education for children was nowhere more exemplified than with her donation of Mr. Seidenman’s violin to the Music Opportunity Program. 

In 1993 when then the Alabama Symphony Orchestra ended in bankruptcy, Jimmie and Emil were instrumental in ensuring its survival by helping find a new home for MOP.   In the late 1990’s, Mrs. Hess and her family members created an endowment for MOP, ensuring it continued to provide string education to the children of Birmingham

Jimmie continued as an active member of the MOP Board of Directors until her death at the age of 91 on January 21st. She remained a staunch supporter of MOP and its primary mission to bring the opportunity for music education to as many children as possible.  She truly provided the “opportunity” in the Music Opportunity Program and for that we will all be forever grateful.  

Jimmie will be remembered as a wonderful, vibrant, dedicated member of the community. In addition to a large extended family which includes 25 great grandchildren,  she leaves those of us whose lives she touched as her countless number of friends.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the charities Jimmie championed. One of those charities is MOP.  If you would like to make a donation to MOP in memory of Jimmie Hess please address your contribution to:

Music Opportunity Program
Phillips Academy
2316 7th Avenue North
Birmingham, Al  35203
Or on our website.

Welcome back friends and family!

We are looking forward to a wonderful new year of music.

String class and orchestra parents: You will receive information on second semester fees next week. Please feel free to contact the office with any questions. 

The Alabama Youth Symphony Winter Concert will be Sunday, January 27th. The concert will be at Samford University's Brock Recital Hall. More details will be posted soon. This concert is free and open to the public so make plans now to attend!