Sinfonia Selected to "Link Up" with Carnegie Hall…Free concert for 3rd graders in May 2014

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2013) – In collaboration with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI), Sinfonia Gulf Coast is one of 57 orchestras nationwide invited to participate in WMI's Link Up program during the 2013-2014 season. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a yearlong hands-on music curriculum.

Using curriculum materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer's lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.

The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder along with Sinfonia Gulf Coast. This performance often serves as students' first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. On May 2, 2014, more than 1,200 third graders from Walton and Okaloosa Counties will attend this interactive orchestra performance with Sinfonia Gulf Coast.    

"Sinfonia's Link Up program, in conjunction with Carnegie Hall, provides Walton County third graders with an opportunity to participate in an excellent arts and culture curriculum that spans the school year, fosters musical development and performance and culminates in a hands-on, live symphony orchestra performance featuring Sinfonia Gulf Coast," stated Alexis Tibbetts, Walton County Schools Coordinator of Curriculum Support. While the 2014 inaugural performance has already reached full capacity, teachers interested in the 2015 series should contact the Sinfonia office.

Carnegie Hall's Link Up has engaged hundreds of thousands of students since 1985. Sinfonia's music education outreach has reached more than 37,000 school children in Okaloosa and Walton Counties and more than 750 families have been provided tickets through the Students4Free initiative. For more information, please go to www.SinfoniaGulfCoast.org or call (850) 269-7129.

Sinfonia is entering its eighth season as the only fully professional symphony orchestra along the Emerald Coast. Season tickets, including the annual gala event featuring Tony Award-winning singer Patti LuPone, are on sale now.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.SinfoniaGulfCoast.org or call (850) 269-7129.

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About Sinfonia Gulf Coast:

Sinfonia Gulf Coast was founded in 2005 on Florida's Northwest Gulf Coast with the mission of redefining the symphony experience. Under the guidance of Music Director and Founder Demetrius Fuller and a dedicated board of directors, the nonprofit orchestra is entering its eighth season of innovative musical programming, designed to entertain, educate and inspire the community. Notable guest artists have included Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, R&B icon Roberta Flack, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Chris Brubeck, the Sao Paulo String Quartet, classical-crossover sensation Time for Three, Manhattan Piano Trio, Tony Award-winning vocalists Gary Mauer and Debbie Gravitte, Grammy-nominated violinist Caroline Goulding, Grammy-Award winners John Pizzarelli, Howard Levy, the Parker Quartet and iconic big band Pink Martini. Since it's founding, Sinfonia Gulf Coast has presented more than 300 concerts and events, has collaborated with numerous nonprofits and businesses throughout the community and has reached more than 37,000 children through its Sinfonia Guest Artists in the Schools program/music education outreach initiatives. More than 750 families have benefited from Sinfonia's Students4FREE program, which provides complimentary tickets to live orchestral performances and musical events. Sinfonia Gulf Coast is also a proud collaborator throughout the Northwest Florida community and has recently partnered with Sacred Heart Hospital along the Emerald Coast in their Arts in Medicine program.