Performing Arts Program | Arts| Student Life| Avenues New York

EXPLORE:

our approach

The pursuit of passions

Our performing arts classes are designed around the students in the room, so each one is stretched at exactly their level, and the learning happens inside the joy of making something together. Students open their ears, think deeply about what they hear, and learn to be generous with their gifts as our mission states, contributing to something far bigger than themselves.

A musician's path, toddler through 12th grade

Music

Music runs through every division, building from a toddler's first songs to serious ensemble playing. Each class has its own unique instrumentation, designed around the students in the room, and the goal is always the same: open your ears, grow your skills, and love making music.

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toddler through kindergarten

Early Learning Center

It begins with nursery assemblies, where our youngest students sing in their target language. Children learn to identify instruments by sound, sing together, and make music with kazoos and recorders, growing more sophisticated as they move through the early years.

grades 1–5

Lower Division

In grades 1 to 3, students learn music in their target language, expanding their knowledge, training their ears, and building the collaboration that prepares them to select an instrument in grade 4. Assemblies play a central role here, as students share the songs and culture they've learned across the division. From grade 4, students choose an instrument and learn in a sectional model, building the identity of a player and coming together as a band.

grades 6–8

Middle Grades

Ensembles of mixed instruments rehearse together and in sections, deepening literacy, confidence, and the skills of their instrument. Students compose original work and perform at winter and spring concerts and the school's annual and much anticipated Battle of the Bands.

See the middle grades curriculum

Grades 9–12

Upper Grades

Students choose the repertoire and drive the rehearsals in instrumental and vocal workshops, exploring everything from R&B and Afropop to blues, jazz, and indie rock, with African and Afro-Caribbean drumming woven into the ensemble's rhythmic foundation. The most dedicated musicians audition for Advanced Music and Advanced Choir, which meet during Zero Block and become the school's representative ensembles.

See the upper grades curriculum

The cornerstones of the music program are rhythm, student choice and abundant performance opportunities. We strive to learn through doing and playing, and seek to create community—both on campus and within the neighborhood.

Brendan Dolan

Director of Music

Learn more about our teaching artists

Music that fills, and serves, the city

Performance Highlights

Performance is constant at Avenues, reaching beyond the classroom and the school auditorium. Students perform for families, neighbors, community organizations, and audiences across New York, using music to connect, celebrate, and contribute.

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Battle of the Bands

Our signature all-school music event brings the Avenues community together at Chelsea Piers for an evening of student performance. Proceeds benefit Summer Stars, connecting student musicianship with a shared commitment to service.

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Winter and spring concerts

Seasonal showcases bring each division’s work to the stage, from first ensembles to the school’s most advanced players. Students often help select the songs they are most excited to learn, and our Head of Music and faculty build tailored arrangements that challenge each student on their instrument while strengthening the ensemble as a whole. These performances serve as meaningful culminations of months of listening, rehearsal, collaboration, and growth.

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Beyond the concert stage

Student musicians perform across school life, from pop-up concerts overlooking the High Line to Stepping Up ceremonies, admissions events, and community-wide celebrations such as Lunar New Year. These moments give students frequent opportunities to share their work, build confidence, and bring music into the experiences that shape the life of the school.

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Music in the community

From Lower Division through Upper Division, students perform regularly at Hudson Guild and other venues across New York, sharing music with local audiences and experiencing performance as a way to build connection, create joy, and serve the wider community.

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Theater

The Avenues Drama Program

From the middle grades through Upper Division, students can take the stage through the Avenues Drama Program, which produces more than four productions each year. Students act, sing, design, build, direct, and create original work of their own. Beginning in ninth grade, Introduction to the Creative Process gives students a deeper look at how theater comes together, from the first idea through rehearsal and performance.

Recent productions have included:

Willy Wonka Jr., Seussical the Musical Jr., and Pride and Prejudice, alongside student-led performances of original work.

Our drama program centers on and celebrates community. Every year, we give students the opportunity to take the lead and create their own performances, whether as writers, directors, actors or designers.

Alex Brinkman-Young

Avenues Drama Program Faculty

Learn more about our teaching artists

Recent performances

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