|
 |
|
Settlement Music School
More than music for the young and young at heart
|
|
Settlement Music School
Photo courtesy of Settlement Music School/Kelsh Wilson Design
|
Insider Tip
Seniors are welcome to bring their instruments and join in informal daytime chamber music at the Mary Louise and Jenkintown branches. Call either school; ask for the 60 Plus-or-Minus Chamber Players' coordinator.
Kids' shows
Young visitors can hear their peers perform at Performance Hours held once a month on Saturday at 10 a.m. in all the branches throughout the school year.
Branches
Mary Louise Curtis Branch
416 Queen Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 320-2600
Jenkintown Music School Branch
515 Meetinghouse Road Jenkintown, PA 19046
(215) 320-2630
Germantown Branch
6128 Germantown Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 320-2610
Kardon-Northeast Branch
3745 Clarendon Avenue Philadelphia, PA
19114
(215) 320-2620
West Philadelphia Branch
4910 Wynnefield Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 320-2640
The Experience
Rocker Chubby Checker, film composer Alex North, jazz pianist Joey DeFrancesco, Jazzman Stanley Clarke, rapper Cruse and actor Kevin Bacon studied at Settlement, the people's music school. Here students of all ages and abilities can learn to sing, dance, play the flute or cello or study harmony in individual or group lessons.
The largest community-based school of the arts in the U.S., Philadelphia's Settlement Music School operates six branches, each with a distinct signature, all offering extremely affordable lessons. Master classes and concerts by noted classical and jazz artists are open to the public and usually free.
Settlement's Distinguished Alumni Recital Series showcases former students and celebrates the School's role in shaping and nurturing their wonderful talents. Settlement also has an excellent jazz program and the Adult Chamber Music Players, a chamber music program for mature adults.
History
The music school began in 1908 as part of the College Settlement house, which offered services to immigrants to South Philadelphia; by 1917, support from Mary Louise Curtis Bok enabled the building of its headquarters at 416 Queen Street, now the heart of the city's Queen Village section.
The current 200-member faculty includes members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, many of whom studied here. Executive Director and composer, Robert Capanna, is committed to the school's philosophy that everyone should have access to the highest instrumental education possible where students of all abilities learn together.
Programs at Settlement include an arts-intensive preschool program called Kaleidoscope, offered at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch and the Germantown Branch, and a therapeutic arts program for physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities, managed by the Kardon Institute for Arts Therapy.
|