[In 1985, Jane Henry led Shukrani Brown, Hussain Walker and Malik Lewis in a violin class at the Harlem School of the Arts. (New York Times)]
David Burnett has made this announcement to readers of The Collective: “Hello Fellow Collective Members: I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful Happy Easter. I'd also like to share the following article, which is in today's New York Times. The article is about the unfortunate possible closure of Harlem School of the Arts, where I have taught for the past 20 years.” HarlemSchooloftheArts.org says of David Burnett: "He is head of the string department, conducts the string orchestra and has 52 private students. He also teaches at the Langston Hughes Middle School and P.S. 6 in Brooklyn, through Artsconnection."
By Trymaine Lee
Published: April 2, 2010
“For nearly 50 years, the Harlem School of the Arts has given generations of mostly black and Latino children entree into worlds often otherwise out of their reach. It put violins and other orchestral instruments in their hands, ballet slippers on their feet and Shakespeare on their tongues. But on Friday, the school’s building was quiet, closed by the board of directors, which told parents in an e-mail message on Thursday that the school was being shuttered because of a lack of financing. 'We are virtually out of money, with no clear sources ahead of us,' John W. Corwin, the school’s interim executive director, wrote in the message.
“Financing for the nonprofit school, which has operated mostly during after-school hours and on weekends, has been generated through tuition, private donors as well as city and state arts grants. Mr. Corwin, who could not be reached for comment on Friday, wrote that the school would be closed until April 10, by which time the board will have determined if the school will be ended for good. He wrote that the board will 'continue to tirelessly look for funds, in a much more public appeal than we have in the past.'
“The school was founded in 1964 by the concert singer Dorothy Maynor, who began teaching a handful of youngsters from a piano in the basement of the St. James Church, next door to the school’s current location at 645 St. Nicholas Avenue. Ms. Maynor died in 1996. The school serves 3,000 students a year, teaching them four core artistic disciplines: dance, music, theater and visual arts. Alumni have gone on to some of the best performance high schools in the city and to top-tier colleges and universities like Juilliard.”
David BurnettHarlem School of the Arts
New York Times
Dorothy Maynor
Dance, Music, Theater, Visual Arts
Finances Force Closure
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