Crowdfunding Saves Summer Programming at Brooklyn Music School

By Jada Camille, Brooklyn Paper

It’s not curtain call, yet!

Brooklyn Music School’s summer programming will live on, thanks to a last-minute benefit concert that helped raise over $500,000 for the Fort Greene institution.

Facing financial difficulties, the school had to cancel private lessons and group classes in June. Leaders then scrambled to raise $100,000 in one week to avoid canceling the rest of the summer sessions, set to begin July 8.

Brian Adamczyk, executive director of Brooklyn Music School, said it was a concerted effort by the school’s community that helped them meet their fundraising goals.

“We were really heartbroken when we had to cancel our private lessons and group classes in June,” Adamczyk told Brooklyn Paper. “But thanks to the support of our community, we were able to raise the necessary funds to save our summer programs.”

The school quickly threw together a benefit concert, which even featured a performance by Mark Kelly of the Roots and Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show Band. But it wasn’t just the concert that saved them, Adamczyk said.

Two days before the concert, New York Presbyterian pledged $250,000 toward the school’s future, and an anonymous family donated a whopping $180,000.

Adamczyk said the funds will be used to cover summer programming, including camps and private lessons, and to support the school’s staff.

“We are grateful for the support of our community and are excited to move forward with our summer programs,” he said. “However, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure the longterm stability of our school.”

The success of the campaign is hopefully just the beginning, Adamczyk said, adding that the school will likely host more concerts and events in the coming months.

“It was a really tough time for us, but it’s been amazing to see how our community has come together to support us,” Adamczyk said. “We are proud to be able to continue providing music education to our students.”

Brooklyn Music School, located at 126 St. Felix Street, dates back to 1909, when it was founded by immigrants as the Brooklyn Music School Settlement.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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