Brooklyn Music School Must Raise $80K by Week's End to Stay Open

By Jada Camille, Brooklyn Paper

Please don’t stop the music!

Brooklyn Music School, one of the borough’s leading arts education centers, faces potential closure unless it can raise at least $80,000 by the end of the week, according to school officials.

With a 115-year history of providing music education and cultural enrichment to over 6,000 families, the storied institution is making a last-ditch effort to keep its doors open. To bring in some dough and avoid canceling the remainder of its summer programs, Brooklyn Music School will host a special benefit concert at its Fort Greene location on June 26.

Brian Adamczyk, executive director of Brooklyn Music School, told Brooklyn Paper that city and state budget cuts, combined with inflation, have put the center in a tough position. In light of these financial woes, they have already had to cancel their June programs, including three weeks of private lessons and group classes, and furlough key staff members.

Adamczyk and the school’s board of trustees are pursuing every option for securing funds, including state and local assistance, grants, loans, and corporate sponsorships. The benefit concert will feature special performances by Mark Kelley and Captain Kirk Douglas of The Roots, Peter Gunz, and more.

“We’re putting money out of the organization faster than we’re able to bring money in with no reserves, no endowment, no Covid plans, no sponsors,” Adamczyk said. “This concert is critical. The crunch right now is to bring in real money fast so that July programs will be safe. We’ll be fundraising like crazy.”

Since its inception, Brooklyn Music School has prioritized serving underprivileged families and students who lack access to music education in their public schools. It was founded in 1909 as part of the New York Music School Settlement with the mission of providing a musical education to immigrant and lower income children of all races and backgrounds.

The music school was supposed to expand into a new 20,000-square-foot space in a proposed condo tower next door at 130 St. Felix Street, but although in 2021 the city approved the plans for the new building, the project has not moved forward.

Na’Im Smith, an alumnus, attended the center throughout his adolescence. He credits this exposure to musical creativity for leading him to study music in college.

“It allowed me to have so many opportunities that I would’ve never dreamed of,” Smith said, stressing the impact of the institution’s after-school program. “That allowed me to learn African drums, dance, violin, piano — the things I didn’t have access to in my middle school. I could talk go on and on about the experiences I had at BMS. They really care about their students.”

Providing accessible music education and programs continues to be a priority for the center, located at 126 St. Felix Street, which is why officials say they are avoiding raising the school’s tuition to bring in more money.

“If we raise [tuition] 30 to 40 percent, we’re going to alienate the community. People are not gonna be able to pay. That’s the whole point of the mission. We’d be gentrifying school which you might as well close if you’re going to do that,” Adamczyk said.

As of press time, supporters have raised close to $50,000 toward their $100,000 goal through an online fundraiser. All funds collected will support July’s summer programs and the staff required to keep the institution operational. Executives fear that if the money isn’t secured soon, they risk families leaving the center and potential closure.

“If we don’t [open] for July and August, I don’t see how we could possibly have the trust and financial capability to ever reopen,” he said.

The fate of Brooklyn Music School’s future hangs in the balance, but the community still has a chance to make a difference, Adamczyk said. Tickets for the benefit show, happening at 7:30 p.m. at 126 St Felix Street, are donation based and are listed online. More information is available at the Brooklyn Music School.

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

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