I was raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, an old coal town on the Susquehanna River, where the arts played a big part in my upbringing. While my friends distinguished themselves on the football field or in the classroom, I found my calling on the scuffed wooden stage at the local high school, which was famous throughout the state for its strong theater program.

Soon I was acting and singing in such classic high school productions as The Man Who Came to Dinner and South Pacific. Without ever taking a private lesson, I was accepted on a full scholarship to The Juilliard School, and at the age of eighteen, was living a short distance from Lincoln Center and the theaters on Broadway, the very center of an aspiring actor’s universe.

Most of the talented artists and highly successful business people I know got their start in public schools that had art classes in every grade, drama productions, an all-school orchestra, and a marching band that performed on weekends in the late fall. We took these programs and the skills they taught us for granted, and didn’t realize how good it all was until later, when we were adults.

But New York City’s public school children cannot take access to arts programs for granted. With an increase in the number of standardized tests, and a decrease in the resources devoted to arts programs in public schools, fewer students have the chance to experience the aesthetic pleasures and educational benefits of the arts, as we did years ago in our own schools.

Young Audiences New York brings innovative programs in dance, music, theater and the visual arts to public schools that, on their own, cannot afford them. With a small staff of full-time employees, and a long list of professional artists on our roster, we form in-depth partnerships with schools that request our residencies, performances, and cultural field trips for students in all five boroughs.

Although part of the national Young Audiences organization, Young Audiences New York is solely responsible for its own budget requirements, and relies on grants from corporations, foundations, and government agencies—as well as contributions from individuals— to do its work. We hope you will be generous and allow us to continue to provide arts programs to schoolchildren throughout the city.

Sincerely,

John G. Schultz
Executive Director