|
Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (often referred to as "Usdan Center") is a not-for-profit summer arts camp situated on 200 woodland acres (0.81 km2) in Wheatley Heights, Long Island, NY. Usdan opened in 1968 and now enrolls 1,600 students ages 5–18. Usdan has been declared a “Best Of” camp by TimeOutNY/Kids, and by NY Metro Parents. The Center has been profiled in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and in numerous print and online publications. Usdan's 40,000 alumni include actresses Natalie Portman, Jackie Hoffman, Olivia Thirlby, Stacey London, and Lisa Gay Hamilton; singers Jane Monheit, Taylor Dayne, and Mariah Carey; Tony-Award nominated playwright Michele Lowe, Grammy-Award winning producer Adam Abeshouse, Broadway personality Seth Rudetsky, Juilliard conductor Adam Glaser, and members of major American orchestras, dance and theater companies. The camp is named for the daughter of the late philanthropist Samuel Lemberg. Usdan was established to provide children with the arts as a companion for life through great teaching and the camaraderie of fellow students whose bond is their love of the arts. The Center features more than 40 programs of study. The Music Department offers Orchestra, Band, Chorus, Guitar, Chamber Music, Jazz Ensemble, and Piano. The Dance Department offers Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Tap dance. The Theater Department offers Repertory Theater, Musical Theater, Technical Theater, Drama and Theater Adventure. The Visual Arts Department offers Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Jewelry, Photography, Illustration and Book Design, Video Arts, Fashion Design, Sewing and Fashion Production, Cartooning, Video Game Art and Design and Animation. Other "majors” include Creative Writing, Chess, Nature and Ecology, and Organic Gardening. A special feature of each student’s program is attendance at the Center's series of daily assemblies known as the Festival Concerts. These are performances by distinguished artists and by Usdan students as well. World famous artists who have appeared on this series include Andre Watts, Yo-Yo Ma, The King's Singers, Earl Wild, Ruggiero Ricci, James Galway, Canadian Brass, Tokyo String Quartet, Emanuel Ax. Jazz artists have included Jimmy Heath, Marian McPartland, Billy Taylor, Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson, and Jane Monheit. Dance companies include New York City Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, the José Limón Dance Company. Cast members from current Broadway shows perform on this series, and many also work with students as visiting master teachers. The camp is divided into four divisions based on grade level: Discovery – Grade Pre-K, K and 1; Partners in the Arts – Grades 2 and 3; Junior – Grade 4 through 6; Senior – Grade 7 through 12. Students have a choice of classes from the following disciplines: Music, Art, Theater, Dance, Writing, Chess, Nature and Ecology, Organic Gardening. Students choose a "major" class that meets for two fifty-minute periods daily, and they also have a "minor" that meets for one period daily. All students have an hour of swim daily. The Center enrolls students for 3, 4, or 7 weeks. Usdan’s modern campus includes 70 award-winning studios and theaters, including the campus centerpiece, the Andrew and Lily McKinley Amphitheater, a 1,000-seat state of the art theater for the Center's daily artist and student concerts. Other signature buildings include the Samuel and Lucille Lemberg Drama Center, with three theaters, six teaching studios, and costume and set shops. The Block Media Arts Center contains broadcast quality production studios. The Maurice B. Hexter Center is a recital hall and conference center that also houses Usdan's chess program. Art students exhibit the work in the Goetz and Hexter galleries. Usdan is a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York, and the Center is chartered by the Regents of the State of New York. ==History== In 1968, one thousand New York-area children arrived at the newly created Usdan Center to pursue their love of the arts. This extraordinary inaugural enrollment was testimony to the vision and dedication of the Center's founders. They included artists, educators, and communal leaders. The Center was established under the aegis of Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (now UJA-Federation of New York) then headed by Dr. Maurice B. Hexter. Graenum Berger, Dr. Hexter's colleague, brought the concept to Federation following a trip with Andrew McKinley to Interlochen in 1951. Here Dr. Berger saw the possibility of a comprehensive not-for-profit arts camp for children living in the New York metropolitan area. He embraced the concept of arts education in a camp setting, and enlisted the partnership of a great philanthropist, Samuel Lemberg. Mr. Lemberg provided the initial donations to establish the Center. To honor his extraordinary generosity, Usdan was named for his beloved daughter, Suzanne Usdan. Arts educators created the educational and artistic plan for Usdan. The Center's founding Executive Director, Andrew McKinley, was a concert artist, a member of the Juilliard faculty, and a renowned opera singer. The Center’s Educational Coordinator and longtime Board President, Dr. Jerrold Ross, then Chairman of the Department of Music Education at New York University, worked with Mr. McKinley to establish the high artistic and educational standards for which Usdan is known. Together with Mrs. Usdan, Dr. Hexter, and Mr. Lemberg, a Board of Trustees was established, and Mr. McKinley assembled a faculty of prominent artists and teachers from the country’s leading conservatories and universities. In 1983, following 16 years as Director of the Center, Andrew McKinley retired. The Board appointed Dale Lewis to become his successor, and Mr. Lewis has been Usdan’s Executive Director since that time. Dr. Ross was the Board's longest serving President (1968–2004). In recent years he has collaborated with Mr. Lewis to expand the Center's curriculum. In 2006 Dr. Ross was honored by his Board colleagues with the naming of the Jerrold Ross Discovery Center, Usdan's campus center for early childhood arts education. Usdan's original curriculum of music, art, dance, and theater has expanded into additional fields of study in the arts. The program now includes recently added courses in writing, jazz studies, video arts, computer graphics, jazz and tap dance, chamber music, nature and ecology, organic gardening, fashion design, cartooning, animation, classical guitar, and chess. Newer elective classes include Life Drawing, Actor’s Skills, and tennis. During the past ten years, Usdan has launched programs for beginners as well. Discovery is an arts exploration experience for children in Kindergarten and First Grade. In addition to its primary programs for children, Usdan also sponsors professional development programs for arts educators. Lifetime learning is another programmatic theme at Usdan, and these programs include alumni study days, lecture and concert workshops for adults, and a popular summertime event for adults known as Usdan University. Usdan’s professional staff provides collaborative programs with schools on Long Island in New York City, and the Center hosts training events for young professionals in the arts, and for community events such as the Long Island Envirothon. Usdan's leadership includes its Board of Trustees and a Leadership Council of Long Island community, philanthropic, and business leaders, both under the direction of the Center's President, John Usdan, son of the Center's namesake. 2013 was Dale Lewis's 30th year as Executive Director. In 2015, Mr.Lewis retired and Lauren Brandt Schloss became the center's 3rd Executive Director. Usdan's Mission: Usdan Center is a summer arts school that provides an educational setting for children to develop artistic skills, regardless of their level of talent. Children acquire and develop these skills under the guidance of a professional faculty and they participate in public performances and exhibits that reflect the high standards sought by their teachers and conductors. While studying at Usdan, children discover new abilities and talents and they form lifetime friendships with those who share their love of the arts. The goal is for them to leave Usdan with the arts as a lifetime companion. The Center's philosophy is reflected in Suzanne Usdan's inspirational message: "Lose yourself for a summer. Find yourself for a lifetime." 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=A History of the Usdan Center )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|