On April 28, 2022, The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey presented the 2022 Cynthia Platt Scholarship to Keys 2 Success.
Everybody at Pennington Court in Newark, New Jersey felt the excitement and shared the good feelings as they gathered at the Newark Center of Hope.
Continuing the historic collaboration with Keys 2 Success started in 2019, for the first time the scholarship was awarded to an educational organization. BONJ President Jo Ann Bates presented Keys 2 Success Executive Direetor Jee-Hoon Krska and President Onieka Sutton a check for $2,000 to help with providing piano instruction to the young students in the Newark area.
Pennington Court Center of Hope Coordinators Mr. Parker and Ms. Rivera warmly welcomed the large audience to open the event.
BONJ President Jo Ann Bates briefly told the history of the orchestra and related the orchestra's continued mission of being part of the community and supporting young musicians and listeners as well as reaching out to families. She then told the story of how noted musician Cynthia Platt provided funds that have been given in annual scholarships every year since 2012 to help young musicians continue their musical education.
Maestro Robert W. Butts then told the story of our landmark collaborartive experiences. It began with an invitation to the young musicians to perform on stage at our June 2019 concert before Paul Zeigler performed George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F. Maestro Butts mentioned how he and Newark composer Elijah Souels co-composed Variations on Simple Gifts as a unique work in which the young (grades K-6) students could perform with the orchestra! in April 2020. Because of COVID, that concert had to be canceled. However, working together, individual students and orchestra musicians recorded themselves playing their parts and a very special collaborative video was created that continues to win acclaim. Not to stop there, at the July 18 2021 BONJ Summer Music Festival Concert at The Madison Community Arts Center in Madison, New Jersey Keys 2 Success students, Elijah Souels, Hector Falcon, and musicians of The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey performed the historic first live concert together!
Keys 2 Success Executive Director Jee-Hoon Krska spoke about Keys 2 Success and introduced members of her board.
Regina Barboza, Director of Development and Strategic Initiatives for Newark Arts, spoke about the value of collaborations and of working together to develop as artists and as a community.
The youngsters were then joined by composer Elijah Souels and K2S facultry Taylor Martin to perform two special arrangements before singing Lift Every Voice and Sing.
Following the story-telling and music, awards were given to all the young artsts and President Jo Ann Bates presented the check to Keys 2 Success President Onieka Sutton and Jee-Hoon Krska.
The event concluded with cake and snacks, photos, and a shared commitment to the arts, to music, and to the community.
BONJ Board Members Douglas Anderson and Evan Ardelle joined in making the celebration a great success.
