Although best known for its high-profile artistic activities, such as its annual Carnegie Hall Series, the Orchestra of St. Luke's has long been an advocate for Arts Education. For over 33 years, the Orchestra of St. Luke's has established an innovative and far-reaching Educational Program for New York City Public School students, particularly those most underserved. Since the inception of this program in 1976, the Orchestra of St. Luke's Arts Education Program has introduced over one million students to the beauty and power of the performing arts. We are delighted to share our part of New York City's artistic and cultural richness with young New Yorkers of diverse cultural, economic, and linguistic backgrounds, from schools and neighborhoods across the city.

St. Luke's Arts Education Program mission includes sustainability, flexibility, and collaboration. For its 30th Anniversary, the Program designed its first-ever arts education strategic plan to ensure the future vitality and excellence of performances and school partnerships.

Today, St. Luke's reaches more than 20,000 students every year through a combination of free performances, in-school partnerships, and music coaching. 90% of the programs audiences are inner-city students. Over 95% are African-American and Hispanic, and 68% are eligible for free or reduced lunch programs. The program also targets children with special needs as well as those with limited English proficiency.

"an innovative and welcome educational force for three decades"
- Barrymore Laurence Scherer, The Wall Street Journal

St. Luke's continues to explore innovative collaboration as a way to improve the quality of its programs. Each year, St. Luke's works closely with visual artists, dancers, choreographers, animators, and digital artists to produce creative activities and performances that integrate musical experiences with other art forms. While instrumental music remains central to its educational activities, students in the Program encounter connections to other arts disciplines including dance, visual art, opera, choral music, and digital media.

The Orchestra of St. Luke's Arts Education Program consists of three primary elements:

● Free Performances

● School Partnerships

● Music Coaching