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Church Street School for Music & Art
FY23 Annual Report
Table of Contents
About Church Street School for Music & Art
Church Street School for Music & Art (CSSMA) is a unique nonprofit community school for the arts located in Lower Manhattan.
Since 1990, we have been dedicated to making high-quality arts programming accessible to a diverse range of students.
We believe in the transformative and therapeutic power of the arts and specialize in facilitating each student’s connection to their authentic creative voice.
Letter from the FY23 Executive Director
For everyone in the CSSMA family the past year brought growth in programming, growth in our community impact and growth in our outreach efforts. We are incredibly honored to have served 1011 students in FY23.
In January 2023 we greeted the inception of our new Tribeca Jazz Institute program, welcoming in the most talented jazz musicians in the world to teach up-and-coming jazz professionals through a new direction in jazz music education. We also saw our Summer Camp program exceed all expectations for enrollment and provide a much-needed creative program for school and preschool aged students who need a safe creative environment while their parents are at work.
Betsy Kerlin, CSSMA Interim Executive Director
Our outreach efforts allowed us to serve 16,291 people overall in FY23, while also creating performance opportunities for our students and faculty. Through free performances and events at local parks and venues, we brought accessible community music and art to 12,224 people in Downtown NYC & beyond. Learning from the Pandemic, we continued to offer students the option of learning online. Allowing students who moved internationally or went away to college the opportunity to continue studying with their beloved instructors wherever they might be. As we see our enrollment return to pre-pandemic numbers, with over 1,000 students participating in Church Street School programs in FY23, we are excited to find ourselves serving students of all ages spanning all five boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, and in eleven countries internationally.
Whether you are enrolled in a class or lesson, you join us once a month for Draw, Paint and Sip, or you see us in your local park downtown, this is an exciting time to be part of the CSSMA community. Stay informed about upcoming creative happenings at your local community school for the arts and join the fun!
Sincerely,
Betsy Kerlin, CSSMA Interim Executive Director FY23
“CSSMA is essential to the growth of the arts in Children, Teens and Adults. [...] I love to sing, dance and be creative outside of my everyday work, and Church Street School gives me and my daughter a supportive, accepting and loving space to express ourselves [...] The community environment of creativity, belonging, support, & encouragement lights up our lives.”
Leyna Madison,
CSSMA Adult Student, Parent, Supporter, & Volunteer
Board & Artist Council
Board of Directors
Anand Agneshwar
Lauri Bailey
Rob Elder
Chair of the Board
Daryl Kleiman
Governance Committee Chair
Jeanne Madej
Fundraising Committee Chair
Cathleen McLaughlin
David Silverstein*
Dwight Yellen
Finance Committee Chair
*Served in FY24 Only
Artist Council
Z Behl
Artist
Eric Bogosian
Obie Award Winning Actor & Writer
Jo Bonney
Obie Award
Winning Director
Winsome Brown
Actor, Writer
Tamra Davis
Director
Mike Diamond
Musician & Founding Member of the Beastie Boys
David Gahan
Lead Singer of Depeche Mode
Lisa Giobbi
Choreographer & Aerial Artist
Paul Guilfoyle
TV & Film Actor
Jessica Grindstaff
Artist, Director, Set Designer,
Founder of Phantom Limb Co.
Des McAnuff
Tony Award Winning Director
Azikiwe Mohammed
Artist
Lee Ranaldo
Musician, Writer &
Founding Member of Sonic Youth
David Rockwell
Renowned Architect
Erik Sanko
Musician, Composer, Writer,
& Master Puppeteer
Leah Singer
Photographer & Multi-Media Artist
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky
DJ & Producer
Jennifer Sklias-Gahan
Actor & Writer
George Steel
Distinguished Musician &
Former Director of NYC Opera
Julia Stiles
Actor
Andrew W.K.
Musician & Producer
Lead Singer of Depeche Mode
A Year in Numbers
Church Street School's free adult choir 'The Downtown Beats' performing live at the 2023 Happening Block Party
In FY23 Church Street School for Music & Art was proud to have provided accessible music & art education and enrichment to students from all 5 Boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, and 11 foreign countries including: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, & Sweden.
“My favorite moment on Mondays and Tuesdays is to come to CSSMA immediately after my school and I even linger there after my drawing and printmaking classes. Everyone should have places like this to do some art [...] We should encourage people to try it, they too will love it. Everyone is an artist. Without CSSMA, they won't discover it in their lives.”
Emilee (9),
CSSMA Art Student
Financials*
Budget Actuals: $1,503,920
*Unaudited
Funders, Donors, & Community Partners
American Express Employee Giving Program
Arnold & Porter
The Asborn Lunde Foundation, Inc.
Bronsky Orthodontics NYC
The D'Avino Family Charitable Gift Fund
Enriquez-Bocobo-Smith Charitable Fund
IfLife Foundation
The Imogen Foundation
The Improv Fund
Ken and Blau Charitable Gift Fund
KKR
Kleger/Ramsey Family Fund
McCree Family Fund
Merrill, A Bank of America Company
New York City Council District 1
NYC Stem Club
SEI
TriBeCa Therapy
$10,000 - $25,000
Anand & Anna Agneshwar
Anonymous
Michael Dorf & Sarah Connors
Cristina Enriquez-Bocobo & Michael Kantrow
Daryl Kleiman & Adam Sayre
Jeanne Madej & James Pratt
Cathleen E. McLaughlin
Anonymous
Jeffrey Tannenbaum
Steve & Sandy Van der Zwan
Rebecca Weller & Adam Stettner
$5,000 - $9,999
Arnold & Porter
Jessica Daubel & Michael Dorenfeld
Kendra Decious & Curt Child
Thomas Deierlein
Danielle & Robert Elder
Mindy Wasserman
$2,500 - $4,999
Helen Kim-Bordes & Steve Bordes
Christina & Scott Crum
Chad Gallant
Francine Hermelin Levite & Adam Levite
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co
Charles Linke & Ana Alfonso
Melissa & David Silverstein
Fran & Dwight Yellen
$1,000 - $2,499
Ellen & Ken Blau
Michael & Megan Brosterman
Rachel & Kristopher Brown
Winsome Brown & Claude Arpels
Naomi Buchman
Sean Campbell
Laure Daymard & Alexandre Duguet
Rob Duguay
Amy Ecklund
Lisa Ecklund-Flores & Jon Flores
Ann Feng Simon & Robert Simon
Katie Forer
Vladimira Jakubikova & S. Muthukrishnan
Jennifer & Christopher Kenny
Alison Kleger-Ramsey & Scott Ramsey
Norman & Laurin (Laurie) Kleiman
Don Lee
Judy Levine & Charles Komanoff
Sherry Lookofsky
Matt Lundquist
Leyna Madison
Esther Malamud & Eric Landau
Paul Maletsky
Alejandra Moran & Antonio Del Pino
NYC STEM Club Inc.
John & Chris Pakutka
Anonymous
Matt Schneider & Priyanka Garg
Diana Shieh
Lori Silverbush & Thomas Colicchio
Dena Sturm & Eric Andrus
Bettina Teodoro & Will Iwaschuk
Ana Vilarrasa & Guy Corriero
Caroline Walther-Meade & Robert Kartheiser
David Zensky & Linda Cuggino
$500 - $999
Iona Aibel & Peter Stastny
Cecilia Arana & Kevin Grant
Anna & Philip Auerbach
Keri & Bill Bannon
Jo Bonney & Eric Bogosian
Lisa De Armas & Joseph MacIsaac
Nora DeBroder
Susannah Eaton-Ryan
Nicky & Len Ellis
Christie & Britt Ewen
Courtney & Andrew Flint
Bonita Franklin
Tara Glenn Gendelman
Stuart Gold & Michele Cardella
Whitney Hess
Shirley Klein
Nazlie & Michael Latefi
Vivien & Peter Lewit
Alan Marash
Elizabeth McCarthy & Tom Hill
Sean McPeak
Maureen McSherry
Eileen & James Montague
Milagros Montalvo & Jesse Ryan
Avanee Patel & Arun Pandian
Cory Robbins & Sarah Creal
Aneil & Katie Shirke
Kristin Turnacioglu
David Weller
Rachel Wrocherinsky
$250 - $499
Leslie Abbey & Steve Dietz
Kerry Allen
Bruce & Marsha Baldinger
Hilda & David Bergman
Honey Berk
John Bliss
Elisabeth Cholnoky
Stacy & Eric Cochran
Caroline Cromwell
Susan Horowitz
Merideth Kane
Michael & Lauren Malafronte
Kristen Monahan & Andrew Miller
Veenu Narang
Krista Nickols
Albert Nieves
Erinn Oneill
Nadine Peyser
Mandarin Plaza
Danielle & Anthony Reilly
Paul Sagawa & Susan Hayes
Rachel Schneider
Laura & Tim Shopa
Katharine Staley
Alan Sturm
John Williams
$250 & Under
Dan Adler
Angelica & Florentino Alvarado
Rosa Alvarado
Brian Aslami
Lauri Bailey
Desira Barnes
William Benjamin
Chiara Bettonagli
Aileen Bordman
Preeti Bath
Greg Brody
Alexandra Brykman & Benedict John
Sara Burke & Chris Rude
Wendy Byrne
Karen Cha
Rachel Chandler & Nate Lowman
Christina Chang & Michael Braner
Marya Cohn & Tjedbo Penning
James Coleman
Jim Coleman
Logan Cortes
Jacqui & Mark Cousin
Richard Crump & Victoria Kingsley
Marlene Danko
Isabel Del Rosal
Erica Diaz
Margaret Ding
Mike Dudas
Caroline & Andrew Eisen
Jason Eisenhauer
Suellen Epstein
Paola & John Fontein
Julian Francis
Susan Gabriel
Aviv & Polina Gadot
Fern Gilford
Daniel & Michelle Gluck
Jeffrey Goldstein & Samantha Greenes
Joshua Gonzalez
Michael Gottlieb
Jessica Grindstaff & Erik Sanko
Sarah Grossbart
Alison Hanstead & Jeff Philp
Marianne Hyde
Michael Jakob
Alexis Johnson & Jorge Pardo
Jodi Kantor & Ron Lieber
Katherine Keenan
Halsey Keller
Caitlin Kelly
Gary Kelly
Jay Kelsey
Betsy Kerlin & Peter Pyun
Melodie Konforti
Susheel Kurien
Martin Ladd
Prawat Laucharoen
Stacy & Andrew Lee
Felix Lemerle
Michelle Lipkin
Andrea Lupo & Cedric Smith
Lauren MacCallum
Kelsey MacCarter
Vanessa Low Mendelson & Eric Mendelson
Jasmine Mitchell
Louis Monoyudis
Alon Nechushtan
Jiyoun Oh
Adriana & Alexandre Pagliano
Camila Pastor
Mizuo Peck
Levi Quaintance
Preetam Rao
Joani Rittierodt
Sam Roberts
Abby Rothschild
Erin Rucker
Nina Runsdorf
Rachel Sackheim
Preeti Sandhu
Devin & Mike Shanahan
Rana Sidahmed
John Sklencar
Manisha Sobhraj
Elena Sokina
Ann Stettner
Enid Stettner
Steven & Marjorie Sussman
Sandy Tabatznik
Laura Tamburrino
Alla Tryzna
Rosalie Van Cleef
Dani Violante
Susan Wallace
Olivia Wang
Diana Weller
Herbert Weller & Marcia Stecker Weller
Art on the Avenue
Blood Manor
CocoRedoux
Copake Wine Works
Department of Youth & Community Development
Duane Park Patisserie
Friends of Bogardus Plaza
Friends of Duane Park
Hudson River Park Mamas
Keyed Up
Leroy’s Place
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
Makeable
NYC Department for the Aging
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA)
Soho Renaissance Factory
Tribeca Synagogue
Welcome Future Kids
Westfield World Trade Center
WQXR
Zucker's Bagels & Smoked Fish
“Growing up in a musical environment allowed me to foster a love for music. I have been met with severe financial challenges, but [Church Street School] helped me realize the value of continuing my education by learning an instrument. Being at Church Street has been a blessing and positive experience. The diversity of students and faculty brings a uniqueness in culture that can be hard to find in one setting. I would encourage people to support and give others like me a fighting chance to enhance our musical abilities!”
Fern Gilford,
CSSMA Scholarship Student & Parent
New Program Spotlight
In FY23, Church Street School for Music & Art expanded our summer offerings to include a full day art camp for students aged 5 - 12 years of age.
During this ten-week camp, students participated in a rotating schedule of art and music classes that explored different creative techniques, instruments, and media. Additionally, we curated weekly field trips to local art galleries, museums, & NYC cultural landmarks, and produced culminating performances and showcases every Friday for parents and the local community.
This program was key to the overall success of Church Street School’s FY23 summer and will continue to be a staple program for years to come.
In FY23, Church Street School for Music & Art expanded our pre-professional music and jazz offerings with the founding of the Tribeca Jazz Institute.
Started by world-renowned saxophone player and longtime friend of CSSMA Grant Stewart, the Tribeca Jazz Institute is a new kind of music program that focuses on providing performance-based pedagogy taught by seasoned expert musicians at an affordable cost. In turn giving students who have been shut out of traditional jazz programs due to financial limitations a robust and effective educational alternative.
Each semester is 12 weeks and includes weekly ensemble sessions taught by a rotating roster of jazz greats including Grant Stewart, Vincent Herring, Pasquale Grasso, Jeremy Pelt, Bruce Harris, and many more. Students also receive 10-hours of one-on-one instruction and participate in free monthly jam sessions that are open to the community.
Thank you to Keyed Up for sponsoring the Tribeca Jazz Institute!
In partnership with the Battery Park City Authority, Church Street School for Music & Art launched a low-cost teen summer program for students ages 13 – 18 years.
Taught by celebrated artists and educators Konstance Patton, Kyle Morgan, Wilson Montuori, & Phil Stewart, Paint, Pop,
& Rock included rotating art and rock-band workshops for just $75 a week. Each week culminated in a performance/ art show for parents and the community.
Paint, Pop, Rock teen band performing during
the end of week summer showcase.
Paint, Pop, Rock head art teacher Konstance Patton, speaking about the student's work.
Vision for the Future
Growth & Accessibility
Church Street School for Music and Art has been a vital part of New York City’s downtown community since 1990. Our mission has always been to create a welcoming and supportive environment where individuals (of ALL ages and backgrounds), can develop their creativity, refine their artistic skills and find their own authentic form of expression. We believe that arts education should be accessible to everyone, and our programs reflect that commitment to inclusivity. Our faculty and staff pride themselves on offering more than just pedagogy. They offer the tools and the environment for students to come into their own unique voice.
Church Street School's theme for this year is growth. We have introduced the Tribeca Jazz Institute, for pre-professionals looking to take their playing to the next level. We are offering new opportunities for teens to find community and expression in the
summer months and have exponentially increased our public offerings of concerts and community events. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, trustees and supporters, we provided scholarships to students who might not otherwise take music or art classes making them accessible to as many people as possible. We are proud of all our program offerings and are grateful to those who have helped make them possible.
Throughout the year we also cherish the many opportunities we have to come together as one musical/artistic family to celebrate the growth and expression of our students. We offer recitals in the winter and spring along with many opportunities to perform throughout the year from our monthly open mic series and pop up concerts to our summer block party, the Happening. Community participation directly supports arts education at the Church Street School for Music & Art. Together, we can ensure that the joy of music and art remains accessible to all.