October 4, 2024

Welcome to the first quarterly newsletter in which we will share with you, our friends, life at The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg (FMDG/The Fil) Music School.

Our mission is to foster music education, access and inclusion for people of all ages with vision loss.

Thank you for being a 'Friend of the Fil'!

Braille Literacy Award

FMDG Music School is honored to have received the The 2024 Paul J. Sauerland Braille Literacy Award. The award was presented for the first time to an organization, not an individual, on Saturday, September 28 at the American Council for the Blind New York (ACBNY) annual convention in Albany, NY. Leslie Jones, FMDG Music School Executive Director, traveled to Albany to accept the award on behalf of the school.

FMDG received this award for encouraging individuals to become literate braille musicians by providing and transcribing braille music for the purpose of learning, instruction and performance.

Leslie is in the center of the photo, with ACBNY member, FMDG Music School chorus member, and supporter Audrey Schading, and Ian Foley of ACBNY.

FMDG Music School on Broadway!

Four fantastic FMDG students gave stellar performances at the Museum of Broadway on Monday, September 23.

Each student sang a song from a Broadway musical to support a terrific cause: raising global awareness for the need of basic assistive technology. The event was held in conjunction with the recent United Nations General Assembly.

Pictured from left to right are Matthew Herrera, Maya Graves, Iolanta Mamatkazina and Elizabeth Tarr.

Learn about The Fil's activities in real time by subscribing to our social media: Facebook, Instagram and X.

FMDG + NYPD = Music in Harmony

FMDG Music School and the New York Police Department (NYPD) Jazz Band presented a fun collaborative concert at the Queens Night Market on Saturday, September 28. Despite the rain we did create "Music in Harmony" - the spirit of the event was uplifting and the performances were a great success.

Congratulations to our student performers Dana Avant, Yeung Nam Chun, Maya Graves, Iolanta Mamatkazina, Mathew Vargas, and Vinnie Wang for their wonderful performances.

The NYPD Band enjoys working with The Fil and have offered their services for the future. We'll continue to collaborate!

Conversations with the Fil

What: The Conversations with The Fil is a semi-annual series intended to enlighten and familiarize people with musicians, writers, artists, dancers, and actors of note who are blind and visually impaired or are working to make accessibility and inclusion a hallmark feature of their work. The series is free and open to everyone.

When: Monday, October 14, 7:00-8:00 PM on Zoom

Topic: Audio Descriptions

Guests: Amanda Wheeler and Nefertiti Matos Olivares

Amanda is the former FMDG Music School Director of Administration. She is a professional live audio describer currently working from Ohio.

Nefertiti is a current FMDG student and professional voice talent who specializes in audio description. She currently works with Descriptive Video Works and the Social Audio Description Collective.

Hosts: Leslie Jones, FMDG Music School Executive Director, and Richard Thai, FMDG Music School Program Manager

RSVP: Email music@fmdgmusicschool.org to receive the link

Dreams Come True at The Fil

Barbara and Vanderlei are sitting on either side of a drum. Barbara has drum sticks in her hands. Vanderlei has his hand on the drum. Barbara is wearing a white top. Vanderlei is wearing a black tshirt.

Adult student Barbara McNair had always wanted to play the drums, but when she was young it was not acceptable for girls to learn to drum. Finally, her dream has come true! Barbara took drum lessons with faculty percussionist Vanderlei Pereira this summer and loved it!

Barbara said, "I had no idea how complex and interesting it is to play this instrument. I'm fascinated and intrigued. Vanderlei made it clear that I could play. He said all I have to do is try and ask questions!"

View all of our class offerings on our website and register or refer students by emailing music@fmdgmusicschool.org.

The Fil in Short Films

"Seeing Notes" is a short documentary film about the FMDG Music School directed and produced by Vytas Čuplinskas. Interviews with faculty, students, and alumni highlight the school's impact and the unique, community atmosphere. The film was a finalist in the 2024 Annual Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Watch the twelve minute film by clicking here.

"Blind Insight #3" features adult chorus member Karen Gourgey in a short impactful public service announcement. Watch the two-minute video by clicking here.

You can access all of our videos on our YouTube Channel

2024-25 NYC Special Events Calendar

Thursday, December 12:

The Fil's adult vocal ensemble continues its annual tradition of caroling at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Join the chorus to share holiday cheer in two glorious settings: The Met Cloisters' Fuentiduena Chapel (11:00 - 11:30 AM) and the Met Fifth Avenue's Medieval Sculpture Hall (2:00-2:30 PM).

Saturday, March 15 at 1:00 PM:

The FMDG Music School presents the 19th annual Performathon at 92NY. The Performathon is an annual all-school, student-driven fundraising event. Join us in person or watch the live stream on our social media channels.

Saturday, April 26 at 6:00 PM:

The Fil returns to the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at The Met for its signature event of the year! Students and faculty present performances inspired by the Met Museum's collection of art, which is made accessible through verbal descriptions and closed captioning. This event is free with museum admission and a live stream will be available on The Met's YouTube Channel.

Visit our website for the full calendar of events.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the FMDG Music School has an online shop?

Visit the shop by clicking here to check out FMDG Music School accessories, apparel and hand-made custom FMDG jewelry!

Discover many different ways to support The Fil by visiting the "Get Involved" page of our website.

We sincerely appreciate your support and friendship!

Visit our website at fmdgmusicschool.org