Andrew Roitstein with the children of Culturarte President Jorge Piña.
Juntos con Vecinos (JCV) bridges cultures through music in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, USA. While affordable housing has drawn many young classical musicians to this neighborhood, they have generally not integrated into the life of the Dominican community in the Heights. JCV involves cultural exchange concerts and the creation of a music school at Culturarte, the Dominican cultural center located at 260 Audubon Avenue (at 178th St.). It was both the first Cultures in Harmony project located primarily in the United States, and the first Cultures in Harmony project to occur over an extended period of time.
Starting on January 10, 2009, JCV and Culturarte began offering music and dance instruction to children from the neighborhood. Classes meet each Saturday and are free. Irene Wong teaches piano, Caroline Fermin teaches dance, and Geoffrey Hamlyn teaches violin. All are graduates of The Juilliard School. Geoffrey is now the Director of Juntos con Vecinos, taking over from William, and the project itself is now managed by Geoffrey for Culturarte. Cultures in Harmony is no longer directly involved.
Bassoonist Brad Balliett works with Dr. Jorge Piña, renowned poet and President of Culturarte, to arrange monthly cultural exchange concerts at Culturarte’s performance space. Each concert aims to include classical music, Latin music, and crossover. Each event concludes with a reception catered by Culturarte volunteers and featuring Dominican cuisine.
Want tickets for a concert?
Upcoming Concerts
Saturday, February 27, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.: The Arcos Orchestra
Come celebrate Dominican Independence Day by hearing the internationally acclaimed Arcos Orchestra play music from its March tour of Europe! John-Edward Kelly conducts this all-star ensemble.
Dominican Republic Activities
From March 1 to 15, 2009, William Harvey was a substitute member of the violin section of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. Dr. Piña's sister, Rosanna Morillo, arranged numerous opportunities for him. He gave an outreach concert at Villa Bendicion. He was a guest on Freddy y Punto, the most-watched TV program in the country. A big article about him appeared in Clave, the leading weekly news magazine there. Download the PDF and go to page 34 to read the article in Spanish. Dr. Piña arranged for William to meet with Juan Freddy Armando, a renowned poet. In August 2009, Irene Wong attended a poetry retreat in the Dominican Republic with Dr. Piña. In January 2010, William returned to the Dominican Republic for the third time.
For more information about Culturarte, watch this promo video:
