Benefit Updates
If you would like to volunteer for the evening of the Benefit, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
News from Brearley April 2009
This year’s benefit, Brearley Jams, will undoubtedly inspire, charm, and engage all in attendance, but beyond that, it will succeed in doing something that is not so readily apparent: proceeds will contribute to the endowment for faculty salaries, thereby helping to maintain the teaching excellence that is a hallmark of the School and is key to the quality education for which Brearley has been known since its founding more than 120 years ago.
Brearley parents take pride in knowing that their children attend one of the finest schools in the city. This distinction is due in large part to our teachers and the learning environment they have created. To secure the very best teachers, we offer them compensation that is worthy of their expertise and that is competitive with other independent and public schools. Our budget reflects this value: faculty salaries and benefits constitute approximately 78% of the School’s budget expenditures. Strengthening our faculty compensation program — whether in order to attract the best candidates for new positions or to show appreciation to those who have given years of devotion and dedication — remains the School’s top budget priority and is essential to Brearley’s success as a pre-eminent institution of learning.
Join us on Sunday, April 19 at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and be entertained by an eclectic gathering of musicians from within our own Brearley community. Hosted by Class II parent Christopher Meloni, an award-winning film, television and theater actor, the evening will feature the awesome talents of: class XII parent and violinist, Robert McDuffie and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen; faculty member (Mathematics, Advisor, Class X), Class I parent and singer/songwriter Paul Foglino; Brearley alum Wendy Griffiths and her band, Changing Modes; and the eighteen member Brearley Rock Band.
Doors will open at 4:30, but allow plenty of time to get there, collect your ticket and find your seat so you don’t miss any of the concert! If you are bringing young children, it may be advisable to make certain they have had a good afternoon snack to tide them over. The always exquisite buffet dinner following the concert will provide everyone with the opportunity to mix, mingle and celebrate a spring evening on the pier.
Valet parking is limited at Pier Sixty but the benefit website offers comprehensive directions, a list of parking facilities in the area, and information about public transportation options to Pier Sixty.
News from Brearley March 2009
Brearley jams on April 19 with a music festival family concert that will charm, serenade, and rock us all, from the Ks all the way to the grandparents. This year’s Brearley benefit will feature a multifarious gathering of musicians from all corners of the Brearley community.
Class XII parent Robert McDuffie returns to our benefit stage with his masterful violin playing. He has appeared as a soloist with most of the major orchestras of the world. McDuffie is a Grammy-nominated artist whose acclaimed Telarc recordings include the violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Bruch, Adams, Glass, Barber, and Rozsa, as well as Viennese favorites. He plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesu violin, known as the “Ladenburg.” Robert McDuffie is a Distinguished University Professor of Music at Mercer University in his hometown of Macon, Georgia. The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University had its official opening at the beginning of the 2007–2008 academic year.
Faculty member (Mathematics, Class X Advisor), Class I parent, and singer/songwriter Paul Foglino plays folk guitar. Foglino’s music and lyrics won the jury prize at the 2005 New York Fringe Festival and received a nomination for a 2007 Innovative Theater Award. He has performed with a number of bands, releasing critically acclaimed albums and touring nationally and internationally.
Brearley alumna Wendy Griffiths ’80 brings us her band Changing Modes. A classically trained composer whose influences range from Bartok and Stravinsky to Nirvana, King Crimson and Sparks, Griffiths is the principal songwriter for the band. Changing Modes creates a unique art rock with Sparks-esque stylistic diversity/complexity and punk rock energy, and has released three full-length albums — Down and Out in Shangri-la (2008), A Perfect Day (2003) and Aeroplane (2005) — and two EPs (2000 and 2001).
The 18-member Brearley Rock Band was formed by Marty Burman seven years ago for the sole purpose of entertaining the Brearley community. It has performed everywhere at 610 E. 83rd Street, from the auditorium to the cafeteria, and for the past several years has participated in the Spring Music Festival. Members include: Karyn Joaquino (keyboards, in charge of vocal arrangements, and lead vocal); Jennifer Collins (tenor sax); Paul Foglino (Guitar); Karl Paranya (Trumpet); Jeff Venho (Trumpet); Matt Aiken (drums); Karen Ready (backup vocals); David Rentz (lead vocal, baritone sax); Grace Kim (lead vocal); Wendy Evans (backup vocals); Annabel Gordon (Cello); Akiyo Suzuki (backup vocals);Wendy De Wolf (Lead Guitar); Olivia Martinez (Viola); Maria Zimmermann (Violin); Wilhelmina Eaken (backup vocals); Kemmlen Lee (backup vocals); Katherine Henderson (backup vocals); and band leader Marty Burman (bass, in charge of instrumental arrangements). Most of the band will be performing, rocking out on oldies but goodies from the ’60s!
And that’s not all! Our festival host is Class II parent Christopher Meloni, an award-winning film, television and theater actor best known for his starring role in the series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Meloni’s acclaimed work in film includes hilarious performances in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Wet Hot American Summer and Runaway Bride, as well as roles in Dirty Movie, The Stepfather, and Nights in Rodanthe. He has performed at the Williamstown Theater Festival, MCC Theater, LAByrinth Theater Company and the Gate Theater, Dublin.
We deeply appreciate these accomplished artists lending their talents and efforts to produce a memorable and fun evening.
As with our past benefits that have offered everything from Itzhak Perlman to Cirque du Soleil, this event brings together the entire Brearley community — alumnae, teachers and current families including siblings and grandparents. So get ready to pull out your finery, put on your dancin’ shoes and come on down to Pier Sixty on Sunday, April 19, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. You’ll have the chance to hear folk, classical and rock music, as well as enjoy a wonderful buffet dinner.
Benefit proceeds will help to build the endowment for faculty salaries at Brearley.
