FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Bethesda, MD, April 29, 2019— The National Philharmonic is supporting Teacher Appreciation Week by encouraging the community to make a ticket donation on behalf of a teacher for its May 11th concert at the Music Center at Strathmore. The May concert features Ludwig van Beethoven’s iconic 5th Symphony and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 (“Age of Anxiety”), led by Maestro Piotr Gajewski.

This effort accompanies the nationwide Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-10 and is an opportunity for the community to pay it forward by purchasing concert tickets for a specific teacher who has made an impact on their life. Alternatively, community members can purchase a concert ticket, which the Philharmonic will then provide to a teacher. Teachers will receive special recognition at the concert.

Community members can make a ticket donation by filling out the online form or contacting isabel@nationalphilharmonic.org. The online form is also available here: https://forms.gle/ssBzhPvGm8CPv4aH8 

“The National Philharmonic celebrates the thousands of educators in the Washington, DC metropolitan area,” said Isabel Carpio, the Philharmonic’s Institutional Relations Manager. “We are grateful for this dynamic group of thinkers and innovators who are training up the next generation and instilling in them a love of learning.”

The National Philharmonic has a close working relationship with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) through several initiatives. Each year, the Philharmonic performs for every MCPS 2nd grade student in the county at the Music Center at Strathmore. In addition, the Philharmonic’s Color the Music Project, a curriculum-based program, features art created by students in the classroom, inspired by music the orchestra presents in the concert hall. The most recent initiative, a six-concert series at MCPS middle schools funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, was made possible through the support of each school’s administration and Fine Arts Coordinator Rick Penix.

The National Philharmonic boasts a long-standing tradition of reasonably priced tickets and free admission to all young people age 7-17, assuring its place as an accessible and enriching component in Montgomery County and the greater Washington, DC area.

It also offers exceptional and unique education programs, such as the Summer Strings and Choral Institutes. Students accepted into the Summer String Institutes study privately with National Philharmonic musicians, participate in coached chamber music and play in an orchestra. For more information, visit nationalphilharmonic.org  

PRESS CONTACT:   Deborah Birnbaum | deborah@nationalphilharmonic.org