The Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG) is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the Ithaca (New York) City School District to support and celebrate all the arts for all the kids. FABG is an affiliate of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative.

Latest News

Thank you to all who helped with NYSSMA Hosting!

Posted Wed, 05/15/2013 - 6:24am

The Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG) would like to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to everyone for all your support in helping with the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Solo and Ensemble Festival! The amount of time that our teachers, staff, parents/caregivers, students and community friends gave to the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) to help host this event showed how much our community values music education!

This past Friday & Saturday, May 10 - 11, 1,426 student musicians in grades 4 - 12 from 8 counties descended on Boynton Middle School to participate in NYSSMA....(read more)

DeWitt Middle School Orchestra Achieves Silver!

Posted Wed, 05/15/2013 - 6:23am

DeWitt Middle School Seventh and Eighth Grade Orchestra students achieved a Silver Level Award at the national competition in Boston in April. Congratulations! These middle school students competed against high schoolers and were one point away from Gold.

Orchestra students also enjoyed a clinic with a professor from the Boston Conservatory of Music.

Community Supports DeWitt Middle School Orchestra Trip to Nationals

Posted Mon, 04/22/2013 - 10:23am

The DeWitt Middle School Orchestra was selected, by audition, to perform at the Heritage National Orchestra Competition and Festival in Boston, MA, April 27-28, 2013. DeWitt Middle School seventh and eighth grade orchestra students will participate in master classes with professional musicians and perform in a concert with other selected schools.

DeWitt Orchestra Director Aaron Buck states, “Going to festivals and competitions is a great way for these seventh and eighth grade students to see what other orchestras are doing and helps them as a team to achieve something great. It gives our students a goal to shoot for.”

Fundraising was necessary to make this trip possible and the community rallied to support every student’s participation....(read more)

Visiting Musician in Our Schools

Posted Thu, 04/11/2013 - 9:09am

Carol Jantsch, Principal Tuba Player in the Philadelphia Orchestra (Visiting Artist)

Michael W. Allen, Director of Bands at Boynton Middle School, is proud to announce that Carol Jantsch, the Principal Tuba Player in the Philadelphia Orchestra, will visit Ithaca on April 15-18, 2013. The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the top 5 professional orchestras in the world.

During her visit, Carol will work one-on-one, conduct master classes, and perform for students in the Boynton Middle School and Ithaca High School Bands....(read more)

Booster Meeting April 23, All Welcome

Posted Mon, 04/08/2013 - 9:23am

The Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG), an affiliate of IPEI, will hold a general meeting April 23, 2013, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in the Ithaca High School Performing Arts Center lobby. The public is invited to hear about the state of the arts from Fine Arts Director David Brown. Updates on new dance curriculum, current arts activities and other issues will be presented. The boosters serve all the elementary, middle and high schools in the Ithaca District. Pizza will be provided.

For more information about the booster group, contact Co-Presidents Janine Eng and Alice Wu at president@fabgithaca.org or 277-4631....(read more)

DeWitt Middle School Orchestra Selected for National Orchestra Festival: Supported by Carol J. Buckley Scholarship for Students in the Arts, an IPEI Fund

Posted Mon, 03/18/2013 - 12:24pm

The DeWitt Middle School Orchestra was selected, by audition, to perform at the Heritage National Orchestra Competition and Festival in Boston, MA, April 27-28, 2013. DeWitt Middle School students will participate in master classes with professional musicians and perform in a concert with other selected schools.

DeWitt Orchestra Director Aaron Buck states, “Going to festivals and competitions is a great way for these seventh and eighth grade students to see what other orchestras are doing and helps them as a team to achieve something great. It gives our students a goal to shoot for.”

The Carol J. Buckley Scholarship for Students in the Arts, a fund of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI), supported this special opportunity with a grant....(read more)

Ithaca City School District Named One of the Best Communities for Music Education

Posted Mon, 03/18/2013 - 11:47am

from the district….

The NAMM Foundation recognizes the Ithaca City School District for its outstanding commitment to music education with a Best Communities for Music Education designation. The ICSD joins 307 districts across the country to receive the prestigious distinction this year.

In its 14th year, Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) affirms school districts that have demonstrated exceptional efforts toward maintaining music education as part of the schools’ core curriculum.

The BCME survey requires districts to answer detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs....(read more)

Fall 2013 Mini-Grant Link to Film

Posted Mon, 03/18/2013 - 11:24am

One of the booster mini-grants this fall was to Ithaca High School and Carol Spence’s art class work on the Memory Project.

See the feedback and report below.

“Below is the video link sharing the delivery of our portraits to the VietNamese children. Thanks to FABG for helping us practice the transformative power of art. Carol

From: Ben Schumaker [ben@myclasscares.org]Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 10:08 PM To: Carol Spence

Your portraits were delivered to the kids in Vietnam!Dear Ms. Carol Spence and Artists,I’m happy to let you know that your portraits have now been delivered to the kids in the Vietnam!...(read more)

Fine Arts “Word” Boosters Victorious at IPEI’s Adult Spelling Bee Sunday, March 3

Posted Mon, 03/04/2013 - 12:27pm

The Fine Arts “Word” Boosters; Ellie Hobbie, Anne Hobbes and Linda Loomis; correctly spelled “bezoar” to win the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) Adult Spelling Bee on Sunday, March 3, and have their name engraved on the Fuzzy Bee Trophy. They advanced to the championship words by winning one of four preliminary rounds along with The Discovery Trail, We Spell Krazy Good, and Two Engineers and a German. At the start there were 24 teams sponsored by numerous businesses, organizations, and individuals.

“We congratulate the Fine Arts ‘Word’ Boosters who were spelling in the ninth bee, and all participants who joined together in Ithaca High’s Bliss Gym....(read more)

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