Blog: Carnegie Hall’s “Link Up” Concert Series
It’s been an honor to be back with the Carnegie Hall Education Program to join forces with other partners and the Weill Institute team to celebrate and share about the incredible power of this program: Link Up!
After conducting over 100 performances of the “Link Up” program created by Carnegie Hall, I couldn’t be more passionate about what this stands for today. “Link up” is the longest-running education program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute but as fresh as ever! The program reaches more than 300,000 students and teachers worldwide through partnerships with 120 orchestras: I have been one of those with a mere 3 orchestras and it’s continuing to grow. Shout-out Symphony Tacoma, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and El Paso Symphony!
What does this tag line “Link Up” mean? It’s the linking of music classroom learning with the live orchestra performance through students who come already engaged and prepared to be the stars of the show thanks to the hard work of their teachers.
Every year the program is re-envisioned, revitalized and more relevant!
Experiencing the Carnegie Hall “Link Up” concert today – the final performance of their week featuring over 11,000 students from across New York City was so exciting as it was the best I’ve ever seen. Diverse and representative of NYC. An added bonus for me; my eldest daughter, Audrey, who grew up with this program and has watched, participated and seen it evolve since I began conducting it when she was 5, joined me for the performance!
Some day I need to share with you the stories with my orchestra about our many performances, the antics on stage, backstage, in the wings and out in the audience. It’s been a great trip to grow with this program. Receiving the many thank you letters from kids has always been so touching, and as meaningful to the value of those performances on the thousands of kids attending at the time. I wonder where those kids are now and how they tap into this experience…!
As this program proves itself over and over, it’s clear to me that when students learn to sing and play an instrument in the classroom, then come and play with an orchestra live, they are better listeners and comprehend the musical concepts on another level. This is true engagement. Let’s keep this program alive and growing across the world!