(NEW YORK, NY) -- New Jersey native Matthew Whitaker, acclaimed jazz pianist and alumnus of Filomen M. D' Agostino Greenberg (FMDG) Music School, presents a concert on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theatre to benefit this special music school for individuals with vision loss. Matthew brings his quintet to perform with him in addition to select students from the Music School. Other features of the show include a new short film about the FMDG Music School. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Whitaker, who has been blind since birth, is giving back to the school that shaped his talent: the vital, one-of-a-kind Filomen M. D' Agostino Greenberg (FMDG) Music School. The Benefit Concert will help raise funds and awareness to support the school and its students. Since its inception, FMDG has helped more than 25,000 students, including notable talents such as Whitaker and Grammy Award-winning musician and singer-songwriter Jose Feliciano, as well as children and young people enrolled in public and private schools, professional musicians, college-bound students, and people who wish to enrich their lives through lifelong learning in music in a structured and fun environment that allows for the achievement of excellence without limitations. The non-profit organization in Manhattan stands as one of the only community music schools in the country dedicated to helping people with vision loss or blindness.
Tickets range from $45 to $255 (plus service fees) and are available for purchase online. Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theatre is located at 2537 Broadway, Upper Level in New York City.
Born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 2001, Matthew Whitaker’s love for playing music first began at the young age of 3, after his grandfather gave him a small Yamaha keyboard.
At 9, Matthew began teaching himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. Four years later, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond—in its 80+ year history. He was also named a Yamaha Artist at 15, becoming the youngest musician to join the stellar group of jazz pianists.
He’s already toured both here in the US and abroad, performing before The Youth Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in NYC, and on other world renowned stages, including: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC; SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival and at international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, UK, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, Spain, Morocco and South Korea.
Matthew has performed with an array of outstanding musicians: Ray Chew, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rhoda Scott, Cameron Carpenter, Regina Carter, Jason Moran, Jon Batiste, Cory Henry, Marc Cary, Arturo O’Farrill, James Carter, Roy Ayers, D.D. Jackson, The New York Pops Orchestra, EFG London Jazz Festival at Royal Albert Hall in London, where he was a featured soloist with their 42 piece big band and with Hamiet Bluiett and his Bio-Electric Ensemble.
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