All parents wishing to apply for enrollment in the string project should email their child’s name, age (between the ages of 6-14), school, musical background and/or instrument preference along with full contact information to registration@neworleansstringproject.org with “application” on the subject line. You will be put on our waiting list in the order we receive applications.
The Spring semester begins on Jan. 7 & 9. All students should show up at their previous times unless personally told otherwise by faculty or the director. New student orientation will begin at 3:45 on both/either Monday and Wednesday.
We had a great performance at the Children’s Hospital on Dec. 21 2007 at 6:30. A faculty trio played after the student performance in the Oncology and I.C.U. areas for the the children who could not be moved to the Auditorium.
We have a number of newly donated instruments and expect to exceed our goal of serving 75 students this coming school year. For a successful effort, parents of new students need to attend the first three lessons with their child. Parents will also be expected to attend more than 50% of the subsequent lessons until the child graduates from the preparatory stage.
This can take less than 2 months with daily practice. It can also take a year if the student only touches the instrument only during lesson times. We want the parents to understand the power and value of their support during the critical initial phase of instruction. If scheduling is a problem for parental attendance, we can special-schedule initial lessons outside of Mondays and Wednesdays.
Kent Jensen has replaced Jeanne Jaubert as Executive Director.
Please note that our address and telephone number have also changed:
PO Box 850440
New Orleans LA 70185-0440
Tel. (504) 931-3204
Here we have some pictures of our very successful Crawfish boil 2007. The tents helped our performers, volunteers and guests enjoy the beautiful warm day.
This was a success due to so many supporters and donors. The use of these tents, donated by the sheriff’s office, kept instruments and performers from melting in the sun.
NOSP’s Director Jeanne Jaubert participated in a forum at Tulane University on Music Education in New Orleans. She served as a panelist for a discussion moderated by WWL’s Norm Robinson, a musician himself.
Also NOSP Teachers Dave Rebeck and James Shaw donated their musical performance services to a benefit for Lazarus House, a local Aids Hospice. Lazarus House enjoyed the music so much they made a donation to the New Orleans String Project.
Thank you James and Dave!
NOSP students were invited guests of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) at their recent Family Concert. The program featured music that was all about animals. Pictured at the right are NOSP students Rai, Kephren, and Vanessa Chambers along with LPO musicians James Shaw (a NOSP teacher), Jeanne Jaubert (NOSP’s Director), and their Philharmonic colleagues.
Turnout was tremendous for NOSP’s first ever performance at the Louisiana Children’s Museum. Musical offerings included demonstrations by the first-year students of the difference between “pizzicato” (plucking) and “arco” (bowing), a sing-along, and Christmas tunes. The teachers provided a musical surprise ending of special Christmas arrangements complete with antlers and Santa hats.
It was a busy Saturday at the Museum, and after the concert the students were invited to explore and take part in the many activities offered by the Museum.
NOSP students braved the wind for their “Taste of Thanksgiving” performance outside Whole Foods on Magazine Street. This was the first opportunity this season for the young musicians to demonstrate what they’ve learned, and it gave many passersby a chance to learn about the New Orleans String Project.
After a rousing rendition of “Old McDonald Had a Farm”, during which the youngest NOSP students got to “oink” and “moo” to their heart’s content, 5-year old violinist Timmy Bolden-Smith’s grandmother got to learn how to hold the violin (not so easy, eh?). After a little rehearsing, she was able to help the students out with “Pop goes the Weasel”.
Many thanks go out to Kristina Bradford, Marketing Director of Whole Foods, and Venette Winslow, Program Coordinator at the Louisiana Children’s Museum!
Highlights from our last season include a performance with German Musician Thomas Stelzer only two weeks after resuming classes post-Katrina, some fun ensembles outside Jazz Fest, the beautiful outdoor setting for the Crawfish Boil performance, and our final performance at Children’s Hospital, pictured below.
Cellists Bianchi Hughes and Heaven Douglass successfully auditioned for a spot in the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra. Also, Paul Honore, Amber Williams, Nicole Plunkett, and Melissa Bolden-Smith were honored with awards at our Children’s Hospital Performance for their exemplary work last season.
Quarter Notes is our quarterly newsletter – it can be read online
using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
New Orleans, LA — February 11, 2006 — Thomas Stelzer, a German pianist, singer and recording artist with strong ties to New Orleans, wasted no time after Hurricane Katrina. He gathered his friends from the musical community of Dresden, Germany and raised $3000 for the rebuilding of music education programs in New Orleans. Mr. Stelzer will be in New Orleans on Saturday, February 18, 2006, to present his gift to the New Orleans String Project.
The New Orleans String Project is a local non-profit that provides instruments (violin, viola, cello, and bass) and tution-free lessons to New Orleans children, ages six through thirteen. The founders of the New Orleans String Project include musicians from the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, and leaders at the New Orleans Recreation Department, who all saw a need for making string music education available to the large population of under-served New Orleans children who had no prior access to it due to the high cost of instruments, the cost of
extracurricular lessons, and the nearly complete lack of public school string programs in our community. The String Project began with only a handful of students and grew to a pre-Katrina enrollment of seventy students. Classes were resumed in mid-January for thirty-five new and returning students. The String Project’s recent accolades include being nominated for the national “Coming Up Taller” award program for the work it has performed since its inception five years ago.
