It was a beautiful day in the “neighborhood” as over 60 legislators, parents and horn-toting tots cheered on the opening of the newly renovated Neighborhood Music School (NMS) at 100 Audubon St. in downtown New Haven.
Saturday’s festivities kicked off with–of course–music. A student brass quintet played “Ode to Joy,” while NMS Executive Director Larry Zukof dazzled the crowd with a “quick little bird song” on a handmade recorder in photo above). The performers were only a few of the 3,000 students NMS serves each year, offering dozens of classes in thirty different instruments, dance, theatre and early childhood education.
The music was followed by lots of praise. Jennifer Aniskovich, executive director of the state Commission on Culture and Tourism, read a proclamation from Gov. Jodi Rell proclaiming Jan. 28, 2006 “Neighborhood Music School Day” in the state of Connecticut. House Speaker Jim Amman and New Haven State Rep. Pat Dillon lauded the school for offering children and adults the chance to learn and love music. Mayor John DeStefano called Audubon Street one of the “best streets in New England.”
While the afternoon continued with free mini music lessons, piano recitals and lots of chocolate cake, much of the day’s energy was spent talking about the music school’s polished new look.
“We’re here to celebrate a project that began over five years ago,” said Carol Ross, president of the NMS Board of Directors. Renovation seeds were planted in 1998 when the old bird-cage factory building literally began falling apart. “The mechanical system was failing, glass started breaking, there were old electrical lines everywhere,” said Larry Zukof. “For years we were just putting on band-aids.” So in ’98, the school commissioned a facility assessment, which resulted in a 100-plus page report with dozens of recommended repairs.
The actual renovation began in 2000, with an expansion into a portion of the building previously used for rental space. Builders constructed five new soundproof studios, a performance space, a pre-school classroom, new offices and a handicapped bathroom.
Construction then stopped and fundraising began; $600,000 had already been raised for the first phase of the renovation, but NMS needed millions more. After years of personal pleas and persuasive lobbying, the school secured $1 million from the state, nearly $25,000 from the City of New Haven, more than $1 million from foundations and nearly $2 million from individual donations.
With funds secured, Phase II of the renovation began last March. Contractors replaced old lights, fixed bad wiring and even discovered original carpeting from 1968. Work continued through the summer–but only after the temporary relocation of the entire school. Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official reopening of the finished facility. Excited students dragged their parents underneath new entry signs and spacious new doorways. Staff smiled at the thought of a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. State representatives admired the refurbished recital hall–now completely handicapped-accessible.
“We’d occasionally have to carry people into the old recital hall,” Zukof said. At last Sunday’s choral concert, a relative of one of the performers wheeled into the performance space for the very first time.
The total project is expected to cost $4.7 million–a fundraising goal the school has yet to reach. But NMS hopes an additional $1 million may still come from the state.
“This place is so much more public and open, and it’s incredibly community-oriented,” Zukof said. “You can walk in and see two surgeons’ kids walking next to a kid who is destitute–and the great thing is, you’d never know. The arts create incredible things.”
