ArtsALIVE Boosts the Arts at John Jay High School

Nearly 60 students from John Jay High School recently got a close look at both classical music and jazz. Their trip to Lincoln Center was funded by ArtsALIVE, the booster organization for the school's art programs.

Booster groups for high school sports have been commonplace around the country for decades, but groups that raise funds for school art programs are also taking root as school budgets are being cut. ArtsALIVE started funding arts programs at John Jay--both fine art and performance art--in 1997.

The group has twin goals: to fund cultural arts programs across the curriculum at the high school, and to advocate for arts-related programs across the entire district, said Jane Emmer, president of ArtsALIVE.

The trip to Lincoln Center is an annual one, said Amy Geiger, who teaches music history and theory and music technology at John Jay. Students from both of those classes attended a concert by the New York Philharmonic in the afternoon, took a tour of Lincoln Center, and then attended a concert of jazz music led by Wynton Marsalis.

ArtsALIVE has also organized trips that are not art-oriented, said Emmer. "We sent kids to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at global cultural history," she said. "We funded the cultural component of the French students trip to Quebec," she added.

The booster club doesn't just send small groups of kids on trips; they bring artists and performers in for a larger audience at the school. Each year, ArtsALIVE invites the TheatreWorks USA troupe up from New York City to perform.

The experiences are interdisciplinary. "One year, a Shakespeare troupe performed, and literary scholars talked with English students about particular authors," Emmer said.

ArtsALIVE raises money through several fundraisers and other activities throughout the year, as well as through membership fees and donations, Emmer said. People can also purchase a plaque on the Wall of Arts at the high school, either for themselves or to honor someone else. They also apply for state grants, she said.

"We raise between $7,000 and $10,000 on a good year."

ArtsAlive just launched a new webpage that links to information on fundraisers, other events and a list of activities sponsored by ArtsALIVE. The homepage currently lists information about the upcoming budget vote.

Many members of ArtsALIVE are also part of  Save the Arts, a group formed to advocate for art programs in danger of being cut from the school budget. The two groups are separate, said Emmer.

On May 8, ArtsALIVE will be holding a "fun-raiser," an evening of comedy with wine, appetizers, and desserts at 7:30 p.m. at the Katonah Village Library. The evening will include performances by what they are calling "two and a half comedians."

The two are M. Dickson and Dave Ingber, both professional comedians, and the half is Bill Tisherman, a wine merchant and John Jay parent who says comedy is providing him with a "fulfilling mid-life crisis." Tisherman will emcee the show and is providing a variety of wines.  

Tickets for the event are $60 each (tax-deductible). To buy tickets, email klArtsAlive@gmail.com.  Details about the evening are also available at the webpage at www.klArtsAlive.org.