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Church Street School for Music & Art
FY24 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 Executive Director
Dear Families and Friends,
My name is Dr. Chrissie Placilla and I am the Executive Director of Church Street School for Music and Art (CSSMA). I was thrilled to join this inspiring organization in December 2023, and I am excited to share more about the incredible ways we have served our community through the arts during my first year.
When I discovered Church Street School, the mission spoke directly to me. I found it remarkable that the school offers so many dynamic pathways for people, at any and every point in their life, to explore the process of creating with guidance from incredible and compassionate teachers.
In the hustle bustle of NYC, it is so critical to have creative havens like ours. CSSMA not only offers the highest quality programming across a wide array of media, it aslo
Dr. Christina Placilla,
CSSMA Executive Director
thrives on a culture of kindness where people are free to explore, discover, and connect with themselves and their wider community.
Some highlights from my inaugural year as the Executive Director include serving over 6,300 people through free events and programs, expanding CSSMA’s pre-professional jazz program the ‘Tribeca Jazz Institute’ by 29%, awarding $162,791.10 in scholarship dollars, and much more!
It takes the strength and passion of an entire community to make all that we do possible, and we are just getting started! I feel so hopeful about the future of this very special place, and its power to have a deep and profound impact at all stages of people’s lives.
I am honored to be leading Church Street School into the future and encourage you to keep reading to learn more about the past year at CSSMA, and our vision of what’s to come.
Sincerely,
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Dr. Christina Placilla, CSSMA Executive Director
"Ever since [my son] joined Church Street School and the Choristers program, among others, his joy of learning, his joy of music, and his confidence has just grown exponentially.
We see it at home, and it’s also impacted his sister and our whole family. [My children]
love coming here and being a part of their second home.”
Mark Barth, CSSMA Parent
Board & Artist Council
Board of Directors
Anand Agneshwar
Lauri Bailey
Rob Elder
Chair of the Board
Daryl Kleiman
Governance Committee Chair
Cathleen McLaughlin
David Silverstein
Dwight Yellen
Finance Committee Chair
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
72 Teen Band & Battle of the Bands Finalists 'Collidescope' Performing Live at City Hall Park's 2024 Earth Day Celebration
In FY24 Church Street School for Music & Art was proud to have provided accessible pathways to arts education and enrichment to students from all 5 Boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, and 13 foreign countries including: Argentina, Armenia, Canada, France, Greece, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Peru, South Korea, & Sweden.
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"As a musician, I think that all the support that I received [at Church Street School]
really helped build my self confidence, and that made me a better drummer."
Ruby, CSSMA Student
Financials*
INCOME - $1,485,580.89
EXPENSES - $1,636,862.07
*Unaudited
Funders, Donors, & Community Partners
American Express Employee Giving Program
Arnold & Porter
The Asbjorn Lunde Foundation, Inc.
The D'Avino Family Charitable Gift Fund
BMO Financial Group
Enriquez-Bocobo-Smith Charitable Fund
Glenfarne
IfLife Foundation
Imogen Foundation
The Improv Fund
Ken and Ellen Blau Charitable Gift Fund
Kleger/Ramsey Family Fund
Merrill, A Bank of America Company
Michael Dorf Presents
Morgan Stanley
New York City Council District 1
Paul Hastings
Sagicor
SEI
The David & Felicia Silk Charitable Fund
Thundercat Techonology
TriBeCa Therapy
$10,000 - $20,000
Anand & Anna Agneshwar
The D'Avino Family Charitable Gift Fund
Daryl & Adam Kleiman
Cathleen McLaughlin
Jeanne Madej & James Pratt
Anonymous
David Silk
Ann Feng Simon & Robert Simon
Steve & Sandy van der Zwan
$5,000 - $9,999
Lauren Brooten
Danielle & Robert Elder
Vladimira Jakubikova & S. Muthukrishnan
Norman & Laurie Kleiman
Olivia Meier
Sandy Inn-Schulke & Ryan Schulke
David & Melissa Silverstein
Benjamin Varadi
$2,500 - $4,999
Jonathan & Leah Adler
Christina & Scott Crum
Jessica Daubel & Michael Dorenfeld
Bob Kartheiser
Pamela A. Lewis
Charles Linke & Ana Alfonso
Sherry Lookofsky
Alejandra Moran & Antonio Del Pino
Eimear O'Connell
John Williams
$1,000 - $2,499
Kathy & Steven Alecia
Claude Arpels & Winsome Brown
Bruce & Marsha Baldinger
Ellen & Ken Blau
Helen Kim-Bordes & Steve Bordes
Naomi Buchman & David G. Montone
Steve Cheng & Margaret Vaden
Lisa Ecklund-Flores & Jon Flores
Alex Herman
Sandra Ho & Jang Kim
Paul Maletsky
Joanna & Matt McClure
Chris Mehos
Dodridge Miller
Andre Mousseau
Sheila Murphy
Duane Oakes
Mel Placilla
Matthew & Katie Prybylski
Alison Kleger-Ramsey & Scott Ramsey
Elena Romanova & Bill Barnes
Matt Schneider & Priyanka Garg
Dena Sturm & Eric Andrus
Ana Vilarrasa & Guy Corriero
Rebecca Weller & Adam Stettner
Fran & Dwight Yellen
Mike Zuppone
$500 - $999
Iona Aibel
Anna Barbosa
Jules Bokich
Michael & Megan Brosterman
Robert Leung & Elaine Chiu
Alora Cooper
Michael Coulson
Landy Pheloung & Mary Decker
Amy Ecklund
Joan Einbender
Caroline & Andrew Eisen
Alixandra Englund & Paolo Audiberti
Kris Frederick
Mike Huang
Derek Irby
John Klein
Kelsey MacCarter
Milagros Montalvo
Sharon & Jose Neves
Margarita Oliva
Cindy & Robert Park
Cory Robbins
Aneil & Katie Shirke
Douglass Sims
Steven & Marjorie Sussman
Jane Tarica
Gappy Tjan
Josh & Maria Wilson
$250 - $499
Thomas Abbondante
Justin Balding
Honey Berk
Carolina Bosch
Dwaneti Brooks
Jairo Chung & Scott Browne
Stephen Doody
Susannah & Ed Eaton-Ryan
Suellen Epstein
Steve Ganz
Sebastian Gomez
Manda & Adam Greenblatt
Herb Hirsch
Mimi Hsu
Will Iwaschuk & Bettina Teodoro
Bridget Kane
Gary Kelly
Jennifer & Christopher Kenny
Allison Kuchinad
Elicia Ling
Yair Livne & Ruth Kricheli
Lauren Lorberbaum
Marisol Marquez
Heather McLearie
AJ & Mo Medirrata
Nancy & Michael Mentesana
Marcella Monk
Fernanda Murphy
Kevin O'Shea
Stephanie & Philip Oshva
Ken Pace
Danielle & Rocco Papandrea
Susan Romo
Susan Sack
Paul Sagawa & Susan Hayes
Nicole Skalla
Cissy Schmidt & David Goddy
Carl Sheldon
Maria Leonor Tobia
Kristin Turnacioglu
Kim Yao & Paul Lewis
Xiaofeng and Zhenzhen Zhou
$250 & Under
Mona Al-Kazemi
Brian Aslami
Samira Panah Bakhtiar
Desira Barnes
Nicole Bartelme
Polly Bedoy & Taso Giannopoulos
Reinhard Bek
William Benjamin
Magdalena Bogun & Michael Gibek
Ian Boyce
Beth Brownstein & Matthew Buten
Wendy Byrne
Ravi Campbell
Maria Centeno
Yvonne Chalom
Alexandra Chouldechova
Jim Coleman
Patrick Danial
Marlene & Dennis Danko
Joe Dawson
Aashish & Jamie Dhakad
Thelma & Russell Ecklund
Jennifer Ehrenberg
Suellen Epstein
Alex Fiance
Susan Gabriel
Patricia & Todd Godek
Jeffrey Goldstein & Samantha Greenes
Doug & Denise Harned
Tara Harney-Mahajan
Eileen Heath
Monique Henry
Zion Hilelly
Maya Ho
Tamir Hochman
Jonathan & Noelle Hollander
Bill Holodnak
Tereza & Neil Horn
Pamela Hruska
Lucas Hunt
Brian Jacobs & Candice Aloisi
Stavros Kaltampanos
Gregory Kaufman
Katherine Keenan
Michele Keene
David Keener
Rosemary Kher
Ali Koluman
Alex Krawczyk
Alex Krefft
Susheel Kurien
Holly Kurtz
Christine LeBeau
Leyna Madison
Joe Maiullo
Erica McCabe
Beth & John McCann
Adam Messinger
Alison & Matthew Mintzer
Leticia Mulzac
Marjore Nunez
Jen Nuzzo
Kaylee Osborne
Katherine & Bo Peabody
Fredda Pearlson
Hieu Pham
Christina Placilla
Mindy & Brandon Price
Tamara & Michael Rubin
Jordan & Jennifer Ruden
Anne Russ
Susannah & Ed Ryan
Neil Saidi
David Sauzay
Tanhya Schimel
Niraj Shah
Yiquing Shi
Elaine Short
Elizabeth Siegel
Mark Singer
Martin Smit & Anne van Riel
Jonathan Soule
Alan Sturm
Claudia Valencia & Jose-Manuel Alonso
Nils Vernooij & Devyani Kacker
Pamela Warshay & Rey Santos
Jane Zhu
Battery Park City Authority
CocoRedoux
Copake Wine Works
Department of Youth & Community Development
Duane Park Patisserie
Friends of Bogardus Plaza
Friends of Duane Park
Grandaisy Bakery
Green Ivy Pine Street School
Hudson River Park Mamas
Keyed Up
Leroy's Place
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
NYC Department for the Aging
NYS Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA)
Square Diner
SWAN
Tribeca Synagogue
Tribeca Trib
Washington Square Conservancy
Westfield World Trade Center
WQXR
Zucker's Bagels & Smoked Fish
“Church Street School for Music & Art is such an important place to support, in my opinion, because it’s such a whimsical whirlpool, a cultural hub [...]. It’s a great place for artists of so many different backgrounds to collaborate and come together and influence each other”.
Alexandra Dine, CSSMA Faculty Member
FY24 Program Spotlight
In FY24, Church Street School for Music & Art saw a huge expansion of their Summer Band Factory Program. Thanks in large part to the diligent work of longtime CSSMA Faculty Member and Band Factory Coordinator Phil Stewart, the program grew by an impressive 120% in the summer of 2024.
Band Factory has been one of Church Street School's flagship music programs for many years. Designed for students aged 8 - 18 years, each weeklong intensive includes daily rehearsals, music writing workshops, and weekly performance opportunities.
Under the tutelage of professional musicians, Summer Band Factory allows students to experience the joy of making music with their peers while also learning key team building skills. The CSSMA staff, faculty, and community are all excited to see this program continue to flourish!
Summer Band Factory Ensemble Performing 'Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash during the weekly Friday Showcase & Student Art Show.
Highlights from the Summer 20204 Adult Amateur Chamber Music Workshop Final Performance
In FY24, Church Street School took the first steps towards expanding their chamber music offerings with the launch of the Adult Amateur Chamber Music Workshop. Sponsored by Associated Chamber Music players (ACMP), and founded by CSSMA Executive Director and chamber musician Dr. Christina Placilla, this three day program invites amateur adult Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, & Double Bass players from across the globe to Tribeca to meet other adult chamber music players, and enjoy summer in NYC.
The July 2024 chamber workshop included daily ensemble rehearsals, professional coaching, planned social gatherings, a culminating performance, and many opportunities to explore one of the largest global centers for art and culture.
The idea for the workshop was born after observing the lack of affordable programs for non-professional adult chamber musicians. Through the creation of this now annual workshop, Church Street School was able to fulfill a need in the community while also serving their mission of building accessible and inclusive spaces for all.
In 2024, Church Street School's long running teen-run program 7eventyTwo (72) launched their Battle of the Bands concert series.
Since its inception, 72 has worked to provide supportive, safe, and substance free spaces for people age 13 - 18 years to share their art with peers and build community. Through the Battle of the Bands series, 72 opened a new avenue for bringing teens and teen artists together.
Over the course of four concerts, Battle of the Bands welcomed an audience of nearly 700 people and provided performance opportunities for 18 NYC-based teen bands. Each round was judged by professional NYC artists, musicians, and other teen musicians. The band 'Servants' was crowned the ultimate winner.
Thank you to the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) for sponsoring this program.
Pictures & Posters from 72's 2024 Battle of the Bands Series
Church Street School's Vision for the Future
Church Street School for Music and Art (CSSMA), founded in 1990, remains a vibrant hub for creative expression in downtown New York City. The school’s mission is to provide a welcoming and safe space where individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities can explore their creativity, hone their artistic skills, and find their own authentic form of expression. CSSMA offers music and art programs for learners as young as six months and up to senior citizens, with a dedicated faculty supporting each student’s journey.
Church Street School provides a supportive haven for individuals from all over the world to come and find their pathway to their own creative voice. Celebrating diversity and inclusion, CSSMA fosters a culture of acceptance and strives to eliminate barriers to participation. We envision a future where our financial reservoir of
support is deep enough to allow for all our programs to be accessible to all, regardless of financial means.
In addition to offering scholarships—amounting to over $160,000 in FY24—the school is committed to expanding opportunities for people with special needs and aims to reduce its reliance on tuition through increased fiscal support. We look forward to engaging with an increasingly diverse set of funders who believe in our work and are excited to be a pivotal part of the actualization of our mission.
In FY24, we introduced and strengthened programming across all age groups. Looking ahead, we plan to expand offerings for our adult population, including chamber music programs, poetry nights, and adult rock bands. Our Tribeca Jazz Institute for pre-professionals continues to grow through the expansion into vocal jazz and performance opportunities for our teens will be increasing to more prestigious venues around NYC. For our younger students, we are looking to expand our programming outside of our walls by working with community partners to deliver dynamic music and art classes that are free or low cost to participants. It is our intention to continue to activate and expand our community outreach by providing free performances in hospitals, homeless shelters and other spaces that aim to lift up our neighbors in need.
With generous support from donors, CSSMA continues to provide opportunities for community engagement through performances, recitals, concerts and events such as our annual summer block party, The Happening. Through these initiatives, CSSMA strengthens its mission to ensure that music and art remain accessible, therapeutic and enriching for all.