New York Phil Joins Local Music School in a Summer Practice Challenge

Young students of the Bloomingdale School of Music will learn good practice techniques from the professional orchestral musicians

The Bloomingdale School of Music, a not-for-profit community music school on New York's West Side, will partner with the New York Philharmonic to present the We Can Do It! 2 Practice Challenge between August 22 and August 26, 2022.

The challenge will see Bloomingdale's students learn practice techniques from a Teaching Artist in the New York Philharmonic. Each day, students will receive a prompt from their mentors. They will then record themselves practicing and upload the recording to a discussion board, where they will receive feedback from both their mentor and a small group of their peers.

As well as providing an opportunity to learn from professional players, the challenge will help to facilitate accountability in students, as well as incentivize focus and the ability to give and receive constructive feedback.

According to the Bloomingdale School of Music website, the initiative was created "to create a community around the often solitary act of practice, celebrate music-making, and call attention to the need for people to support music education and the arts in general."

The challenge is also open to students who are not currently enrolled at Bloomingdale. If you would like to register your child, you can do so by filling out this form.