Project Details
The Johnny Mercer Foundation has partnered with Kaufman Music Center to launch a residency program with visiting artists that will give under-served children in Title 1 schools the opportunity to write their own lyrics and gain a better understanding of how songs are actually written.
Established with the mission of providing access without barriers, Kaufman Music Center proudly programs a comprehensive musical experience for students, performers and audiences in New York and beyond. The Center oversees the Accentuate the Positive lyric-writing workshops in classrooms from the Bronx and Harlem down to the Lower East Side. The workshops focus on three of Johnny Mercer’s well-known songs: “Hooray for Hollywood,” “Blues in the Night,” and “Accentuate the Positive.”
The Johnny Mercer Foundation provides residencies to schools at no cost. In addition, many of the participating schools in New York will also receive free tickets to attend Kaufman Music Center’s Broadway Playhouse series, an interactive, live show that introduces children to the great writers of the American musical theater.
With the cuts in education threatening the arts even more in public schools, you are providing an invaluable service that is so very important to the students of New York City. You never know…the next Stephen Sondheim or Tom Jones may be born from a spark from Kaufman Music Center and The Johnny Mercer Foundation!
Accentuate the Positive teacher