"the string program was absolutely phenomenal"
-Assistant Principal Queens
"the class loved this program...I'd love to have this program again!"
-classroom teacher Queens
more...
Neighborhood Music And Arts is dedicated to bringing high quality performances, workshops, and residencies in music, theater, movement, and related fields, to the children of NYC.
Neighborhood Music And Arts brings the transformative power and positive influence of the arts into the lives of young people by making music, language, and movement and integral part of learning and teaching. Multicultural assembly programs, artist-in –residence programs, classroom workshops and professional development for teachers offer schools the exciting opportunities to integrate the arts into the curriculum for grades Pre K-12.
The pace of scientific research into the creative arts has never been greater. New data about art making’s relationship to brainpower, wellness and other phenomena is changing the way we perceive the arts, and it’s having a real world effect on decisions about educational priorities. We believe that the arts are a powerful tool to address the long emotional and learning needs of children.
Our growing roster of over 75 experienced teaching artists offer an array of music programs ranging from chorus, recorder and band, to percussion making and social studies through song. There are also movement programs including dance, yoga, and martial arts.
A range of performances and lecture/demonstrations are available in many genres including blues, folk, Latin, jazz, and classical music, and a variety of dance and other movement disciplines.
Neighborhood Music and Arts is a contracted vendor to the NYC Department of Education.
- Implement and reinforce State learning/core Curriculum content
- Have flexible scheduling
- May be adapted for any grade level preK-12
- Can be designed to fit the needs of the school
Toby Kasavan is the founder and director of Neighborhood Music and Arts.
He is an accomplished composer, keyboardist, and pianist and has toured domestically and internationally, and has performed or recorded with many well known musicians including Don Covay, Wilson Pickett, Willie Bobo, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, William Parker, Daniel Carter, Bill Laswell, the Last Poets, and African Vocalist “Mangala”. Mr. Kasavan was also the co-curator of the Whitney Museum’s “80 Fingers” duo Piano festival. His compositions have been performed at the Knitting Factory NYC, Tonic, The Whiney Museum, and at The American Church in Paris, France.
For over 15 years he was an accompanist for many of the most prominent modern dance companies in NYC including, the Martha Graham dance company, Ballet Hispanica, the Joyce Trisler Dance company, the Alvin Ailey Dance company, the Paul Taylor Dance company, the Dan Waggoner company, and Jennifer Muller and the Works, among others.
As an educator he has taught residencies in piano, recorder, percussion and Rhythms, and as pianist /music director for numerous holiday and graduation performances and theater programs. He also holds a 4th degree black belt in Aikido and is the head of the Aikido program at the Queens Judo Center, in Forest Hills.
Mr. Kasavan holds a BFA from California Institute of the Arts where he studied with James Tenney, Harold Budd, Bill Douglas, John Bergamo, and Leonid Hambro.
"the string program was absolutely phenomenal"
-Assistant Principal Queens
"the class loved this program...I'd love to have this program again!"
-classroom teacher Queens
"the program was extremely organized and entertaining..."
-classroom teacher Bronx
"the Students were consistently engaged"
-classroom teacher Brooklyn
