Su Byron Enterprises

(November 3, 2010) Members of the celebrated Vinca Quartet visited 12 schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties last month (October 18-29, 2010), interacting with nearly 900 students in classroom settings and performing for 1,500 students and teachers in school performances, as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s (PMP/Suncoast) Education Outreach Program. In addition, the group performed for hundreds of audience members at three public performances given at Riverview High School, Braden River High School, and at Piano Distributors in Sarasota. The four members of the Vinca Quartet, PMP alumni and gifted performing and teaching artists, presented interactive performances and hands-on training for area music students and their teachers. Their curriculum covered music vocabulary and concepts, articulations played upon string instruments, and an overview of the lives of composers. The group will return in early January for the third and final week of this three-week, in-school residency program sponsored and entirely funded by PMP/Suncoast.

PMP/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program was launched in 2009 with the support of The Juilliard School, Columbia University’s Teacher College, Toby and Itzhak Perlman and the faculty of The Perlman Music Program. The program is led by long-time music educator and PMP/Suncoast board member Barbara Staton. Cindy Balistreri, the former fine arts program specialist for the School Board of Sarasota County, serves as the program’s consultant for developing the curriculum-based programming.

“This program brings the experience of PMP music-making to area students and teachers,” says Barbara Staton. “Students learn directly from professional—and acclaimed—musicians. It’s a rare opportunity.”

“The excitement generated by the concerts and in-school visits of the Vinca Quartet was palpable at each school,” says Cindy Balistreri. “Students were highly engaged, whether watching the quartet in concert or working with them in a classroom setting. When a young bass player from Lee Middle School approached the quartet following the concert and said, with awe in his voice, ‘That was the best music I have ever heard,’ you know that an impact was made.”

Hailed by The New York Times as “stunning” and “musicians worth keeping an eye on,” the Vinca Quartet is a charismatic group committed to forging bonds between audiences and performers by sharing their own passion for chamber music through the highest caliber performances.

“We feel incredibly fortunate to have a group as renowned as the Vinca Quartet offer its expertise to area music students and teachers,” says Elizabeth Power, executive director of PMP/Suncoast, adding that the program is entirely funded by PMP/Suncoast grants, donations and sponsorships. “This three-week program costs $50,000 to administer,” she says. “We’re able to offer this entirely free of charge to area schools only through the generous support of area foundations, businesses and individuals who understand how extremely valuable—and rare—this kind of artist-in-residency program is.”

Now in its seventh year, The Perlman Music Program’s Winter Residency has been providing free admission to diverse audiences of about 13,000 each year for rehearsals, performances and master classes both in the community and on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. This year’s program is December 28, 2010, through January 8, 2011. This intensive two-week program was founded by Toby Perlman, wife of internationally acclaimed concert violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, and offers unparalleled musical training for students, ages 12 to 20+, who play the violin, viola, cello, and bass. With a faculty led by Itzhak Perlman and comprising some of the most gifted musical talents of our time, the PMP Winter Residency offers an artistic and personal experience that changes students’ lives forever. A schedule of free events is available online at www.PerlmanMusicProgramSuncoast.org.   

For more information about The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast, visit www.PerlmanMusicProgramSuncoast.org or contact Elizabeth Power, executive director, 941-955-4942.

ABOUT THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM/SUNCOAST
The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast was established in June 2008 as an independent non-profit organization with the mission to provide operational stability and funding support for a permanent Sarasota Winter Residency for the Perlman Music Program. Founded by Toby Perlman, and with world-renowned faculty members led by her husband, internationally acclaimed violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, The Perlman Music Program augments its six-week summer program in Shelter Island, NY, with a two-week intensive Winter Residency each December in Sarasota, FL. The residency provides valuable enrichment and performance opportunities for the young musicians (ages 12-20) being nurtured in this unique experience, and a rich opportunity for community audiences to experience the magic of musical mentoring through free public events on the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee campus. The program culminates with a “Celebration Concert,” featuring Itzhak Perlman directing the international PMP Chamber Orchestra.

The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast recently expanded its program offerings to serve Sarasota and Manatee county schools by bringing PMP alumni to Southwest Florida during the academic school year for in-school residencies. Under the name of The PMP/S Education Outreach program, PMP alumni serve as teaching and performing artists to support recruitment, training, and inspiration in school orchestra programs and present free recitals for the public in the newly created Performance Series. For more information, visit www.PerlmanMusicProgramSuncoast.org.

ABOUT THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM
Since 1994, The Perlman Music Program has been recognized as a world-class program that brings together exceptionally talented young musicians to study in a rigorous, but non-competitive, atmosphere. This program is the realization of Toby Perlman’s long-time dream to offer a nurturing environment to young musicians as a way to help them develop not only musically, but personally—to enrich their talent, build confidence, and strengthen respect for themselves and others. This unique music program combines educational and performance opportunities while fostering the individuality of each student’s talents in support of the development of the whole person. For more than 15 years, The Perlman Music Program has drawn students from all over the world. Students participating in the PMP Sarasota Winter Residency previously participated in a six-week summer Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island in New York, and many have performed in multiple concert appearances. Past residencies have included Israel and China and a variety of concert engagements, including performances for the Kennedy Center Honors, Live from Lincoln Center (TV broadcast), Mostly Mozart Festival at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For more information, visit www.perlmanmusicprogram.org.


PMP/Suncoast Education Outreach 2010-2011 School Participants:

Manatee County

• Lee Middle School
• Nolan Middle School
• Manatee High School
• Daughtrey Elementary School
• Rowlett Elementary School
• Tilman Elementary School

Sarasota County

• Pine View Middle School
• Pine View High School
• Riverview High School
• Ashton Elementary School
• Fruitville Elementary School
• Pine View Elementary School

Photos courtesy of Barbara Staton and Terrence Grywinski

• Members of the Vinca Quartet with Chris Mink, orchestra director at Pine View School, demonstrating string instruments to a classroom of beginning sixth grade wheel students, as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010
• Jessica Tong, violinist with the Vinca Quartet, demonstrating playing technique during a Pine View School string orchestra class as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010. Also in the picture are Vinca members Aaron Requiro, violin, and An-Lin Bardin, cello.
• Vinca Quartet performing at Braden River High School as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010
• Randell and Shaunte Duggins, with their daughter, Hanna, at the Vinca Quartet’s interactive family concert at Piano Distributors as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010
• Cindy Balistreri, PMP/Suncoast Education Outreach Program consultant; Elizabeth Power, executive director of PMP/Suncoast; Paul Wolfe, artistic director laureate, Sarasota Orchestra, at Piano Distributors as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010
• Elizabeth Power, executive director of PMP/Suncoast with Steven Trawford, manager of Piano Distributors at Piano Distributors as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010
• Vinca Quartet’s interactive family concert at Piano Distributors as part of The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast’s Education Outreach Program in October 2010