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Church Street School for Music & Art
FY23 Annual Report
Table of Contents
About Church Street School for Music & Art
Church Street School for Music & Art (CSSMA) is a unique nonprofit community school for the arts located in Lower Manhattan.
Since 1990, we have been dedicated to making high-quality arts programming accessible to a diverse range of students.
We believe in the transformative and therapeutic power of the arts and specialize in facilitating each student’s connection to their authentic creative voice.
Letter from the FY23 Executive Director
For everyone in the CSSMA family the past year brought growth in programming, growth in our community impact and growth in our outreach efforts. We are incredibly honored to have served 1011 students in FY23.
In January 2023 we greeted the inception of our new Tribeca Jazz Institute program, welcoming in the most talented jazz musicians in the world to teach up-and-coming jazz professionals through a new direction in jazz music education. We also saw our Summer Camp program exceed all expectations for enrollment and provide a much-needed creative program for school and preschool aged students who need a safe creative environment while their parents are at work.
Betsy Kerlin, CSSMA Interim Executive Director
Our outreach efforts allowed us to serve 16,291 people overall in FY23, while also creating performance opportunities for our students and faculty. Through free performances and events at local parks and venues, we brought accessible community music and art to 12,224 people in Downtown NYC & beyond. Learning from the Pandemic, we continued to offer students the option of learning online. Allowing students who moved internationally or went away to college the opportunity to continue studying with their beloved instructors wherever they might be. As we see our enrollment return to pre-pandemic numbers, with over 1,000 students participating in Church Street School programs in FY23, we are excited to find ourselves serving students of all ages spanning all five boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, and in eleven countries internationally.
Whether you are enrolled in a class or lesson, you join us once a month for Draw, Paint and Sip, or you see us in your local park downtown, this is an exciting time to be part of the CSSMA community. Stay informed about upcoming creative happenings at your local community school for the arts and join the fun!
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Sincerely,
Betsy Kerlin, CSSMA Interim Executive Director FY23
“CSSMA is essential to the growth of the arts in Children, Teens and Adults. [...] I love to sing, dance and be creative outside of my everyday work, and Church Street School gives me and my daughter a supportive, accepting and loving space to express ourselves [...] The community environment of creativity, belonging, support, & encouragement lights up our lives.”
Leyna Madison,
CSSMA Adult Student, Parent, Supporter, & Volunteer
Board & Artist Council
Board of Directors
Anand Agneshwar
Lauri Bailey
Rob Elder
Chair of the Board
Daryl Kleiman
Governance Committee Chair
Jeanne Madej
Fundraising Committee Chair
Cathleen McLaughlin
David Silverstein*
Dwight Yellen
Finance Committee Chair
*Served in FY24 Only
Artist Council
Z Behl
Artist
Eric Bogosian
Obie Award Winning Actor & Writer
Jo Bonney
Obie Award
Winning Director
Winsome Brown
Actor, Writer
Tamra Davis
Director
Mike Diamond
Musician & Founding Member of the Beastie Boys
David Gahan
Lead Singer of Depeche Mode
Lisa Giobbi
Choreographer & Aerial Artist
Paul Guilfoyle
TV & Film Actor
Jessica Grindstaff
Artist, Director, Set Designer,
Founder of Phantom Limb Co.
Des McAnuff
Tony Award Winning Director
Azikiwe Mohammed
Artist
Lee Ranaldo
Musician, Writer &
Founding Member of Sonic Youth
David Rockwell
Renowned Architect
Erik Sanko
Musician, Composer, Writer,
& Master Puppeteer
Leah Singer
Photographer & Multi-Media Artist
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky
DJ & Producer
Jennifer Sklias-Gahan
Actor & Writer
George Steel
Distinguished Musician &
Former Director of NYC Opera
Julia Stiles
Actor
Andrew W.K.
Musician & Producer
Lead Singer of Depeche Mode
A Year in Numbers
Church Street School's free adult choir 'The Downtown Beats' performing live at the 2023 Happening Block Party
In FY23 Church Street School for Music & Art was proud to have provided accessible music & art education and enrichment to students from all 5 Boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, and 11 foreign countries including: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, & Sweden.
“My favorite moment on Mondays and Tuesdays is to come to CSSMA immediately after my school and I even linger there after my drawing and printmaking classes. Everyone should have places like this to do some art [...] We should encourage people to try it, they too will love it. Everyone is an artist. Without CSSMA, they won't discover it in their lives.” ​
Emilee (9),
CSSMA Art Student
Financials*
Budget Actuals: $1,503,920
