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Arts & Entertainment

Young Musicians Spread Holiday Cheer

The Noel Pointer Foundation Holds Annual Christmas Recital and Silent Auction at The Brooklyn Children's Museum

This past Saturday, the young violinists of The Noel Pointer Foundation held their annual Christmas recital and silent auction at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, tugging at the heartstrings of museum goers and spreading holiday cheer.

The Noel Pointer Foundation was founded in 1998 with the goal of offering music education to inner-city children. Noel Pointer was a celebrated jazz violinist and composer. He made his solo debut at age 13 as a classical violinist, performing with the Symphony of the New World Orchestra in New York.

He recorded seven solo albums, including "Phantazia," which went platinum. Pointer was nominated for a Grammy in 1981 in the Best R&B Instrumental category. He recorded seven solo albums from 1977-1981, and he believed strongly in the merits of teaching young children the discipline of playing string instruments.

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Noel Pointer passed away suddenly in 1994 at age 40 from a stroke. His legacy of playing his music for inner city audiences, gave way to the Noel Pointer Foundation, a part of the located in the . Pointer's wife, Chinita Pointer, has been an active participant in continuing her husband's legacy through the program, coordinating annual events, such as the Christmas recital.

Saturday's performance featured popular Christmas tunes such as "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night," as well as other fun tunes such as "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "Fly Me to The Moon." Recital students ranged from ages 4-50 who are taught to play through sight reading.  The program is centered around children, but adults with a serious passion for music are also welcomed.

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"I wanted to keep Noel's legacy alive, so we started with our first recital in 1998," said Chinita Pointer.  "The students had five weeks to learn and read music. Then after five months they were well on their way." 

The first recital was held in the living room of the Pointer family home with just 18 students. Once the student population doubled then tripled in size, recitals were held at Akwabbaa Mansion, the Skylight Gallery, the Bed-Stuy Restoration Plaza, and for the first time this year, at the Brooklyn Children's Museum.  

"Music is a universal language," Pointer said. "Learning to play string instruments is a whole new culture for our kids; students can travel any where around the globe and play their music for all to understand." What sets the Foundation apart from other organizations is, in addition to music instruction, the program also engages children in activities such as concentration, poise, memory skills, goal setting and problem solving.  "Playing music can have a positive impact on the kids and helps build their self-esteem," Noel continued.

One of the artistic directors, Michele Joo, conducted many of the musicians during the recital. She expressed her own experiences of teaching kids to read and play music: "My focus is to engage the kids, have fun and bring out the music that is already inside of them," said Joo, an accomplished violinist who has worked with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Alicia Keys.

The silent auction raised funds to help purchase additional instruments and music stands.  Some of the items auctioned included a romantic dinner for two at Seraghina in Bed- Stuy, an autographed acoustic guitar by R&B singer George Benson and a BMW bike.

Classes are held every Saturday.  Additionally,the successful program has been implemented in 23 NYC public schools throughout Bed-Stuy and across Brooklyn-- including Frederick Douglas Academy IV, PS 9, PS 279 and PS 262 -- with more than 800 participating students. With this expansion, Chinita Pointer hopes to launch the Noel Pointer Academy to accomodate more students.

"We're overflowing with students and our classes are maxed out," said Pointer. "In the future, we hope to offer scholarships to our kids, as well as extend our services to individuals living in shelters by teaching them how to play string instruments."

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