Sinfo-Nia's Black History Concert 2019 - Tribute to James Ingram Sunday, March 3, 4 PM

David E. Robinson III writes:

Greetings Family and Friends,

I am writing to announce Sinfo-Nia's annual Black History Concert entitled, "Make America March Again."  We have been holding our Black History Concerts in March because not only is February crowded, but Black History Month is EVERY month.  It will take place Sunday, March 3, 2019, 4:00 PM at Visions Selah Church located at 5090 Redan Rd., Stone Mountain, GA 30088.  Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children.  Advanced tickets can be purchased through our website - www.sinfo-nia.com or at the door for the same price. Please invite your friends, family, co-workers, co-worshippers, etc.  I attached the flier, which you can copy, pass out to people, and post on bulletin boards at work, school, place of worship (where people can take pictures of it), etc.  You may also forward this e-mail.

We will feature tenor vocalist, Kevin Tucker in tribute to famed singer who recently passed away, James Ingram.  Sinfo-Nia, no doubt, will be the first youth orchestra remembering James Ingram in concert.  Kevin is destined to become a recording artist.  He has sung an opera selection with Sinfo-Nia several years ago.  He does sing jazz and R & B as well.  He will also be featured on a surprise tribute to those who were born in 1955 (or 1954 that has not had a birthday this year as of yet).

The Orchestra's repertoire will include some favorites: "Allegretto" from Beethoven's 7th Symphony, "Call Him Up," "Someday We'll All Be Free," and "Melodies of Love."  My composition, "Kingdom Reign," inspired by black superhero film (like "Black Panther") will be performed as well.  The Cambridge Academy Dancers will also be featured.  These young dancers get opportunities to perform in front of a live orchestra.  They always do a great job.  It is choreographed by my wife, Mrs. Alycia Robinson.  

Our School-Year is winding down.  Sinfo-Nia still accepting new students in Sinfo-Nia after this concert.  We still hold our classes at the First Congregational Church Commons located at 125 Ellis St., Atlanta, GA 30303 on Monday evenings 6:30 to 8:30 PM and Saturday mornings 9 AM to 12 Noon.  Our reduced rate for the remainder of the school-year is $150.00 per student.

SUMMER CAMP 2019: Sinfo-Nia will be holding its 30th annual two-week Summer Camp June 10-21, 2019 at First Congregational Church located at 105 Courtland St., Atlanta, GA 30303 (behind the Commons) Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  Students can be dropped off as early as 7:30 AM and picked up as late as 6:00 PM.  Tuition is $380.00 per student.  We do still offer our "Early-Bird" tuition discount making the price $325.00 per student if paid-in-full by May 31, 2019.  We do offer additional discounts if a second (and third child is enrolling in the same family).  I have attached our flier.  I attached an additional flier targeting those parents that work in downtown Atlanta.  How convenient it would be for them to enroll their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins where they can be dropped off before going to work, then picked up after getting off from work.  They may wish that our camp was all summer long.  Please share this information to those who work downtown.  On each flier I put a notice on the bottom of it so when it is posted, those who are interested can take a picture of it with their cell phones.  This year's Summer Camp Concert will be Thursday, June 21, 2019, 7:00 PM at First Congregational Church downtown located at 105 Courtland St., Atlanta, GA 30303.  

Well, my school-years are winding down; 36 of them.  I will be retiring from Dekalb County Schools, but not from my hopes and dreams.  I am "rewiring" for my upgrade of my teaching career, which will expand worldwide and will conquer new horizons coming my way including those outside of music.  I have found a few candidates that are eligible to serve in my position in the Ronald E. McNair Cluster of elementary schools.  I have served in that area the entire time.  I will continue with Sinfo-Nia with the help of my daughter, Briana Robinson.  I will continue to write and publish orchestral music (band and choral, too) on a larger scale.  I will also hit the road to some cities to help some orchestra directors form urban community youth orchestras similar to Sinfo-Nia.  I have already received some requests.  I am sure the citizens in those cities and elsewhere will appreciate it.  I will continue to conduct Urban Strings Youth Orchestra's annual Summer Camp in Columbus, OH.  Their program has really grown with many serious young musicians; some that attend more than one summer orchestra camp every year.  

Sinfo-Nia will continue to be a treasured venue where those students wishing to major in orchestra music education can get some great, hands-on training.  College music education majors and minors are also invited to intern with Sinfo-Nia.  The skills will certainly be beneficial when they become teachers in a predominately African-American school setting, especially where there is a large concentration of students from no- and low-income family households (some living in shelters, homeless shelters, and housing projects...remember housing projects?  A lot of them are gone now).   I can tell them the fun they will have, the benefits, the challenges (and there are many), the tricks of the trade, and so on.  Sinfo-Nia offers quality instruction in an exciting, nurturing, and motivational environment.  Our teaching styles are unique, yet we have a classical-based instruction of music fundamentals and techniques.

Following are benefits for student musicians who join Sinfo-Nia in this partnership.  This is just our short list:

1.      Improvement in music proficiency, which is beneficial to their respective school programs

2.      Performing and interacting among other serious, young, motivated musicians in a well-established, metro Atlanta youth orchestra

3.      Performing in the spotlight among celebrities, in high media (television, music videos, and other motion pictures); even performing with some of them

4.      Being featured as recording artists (Sinfo-Nia) with possible hits, music for motion pictures, and so on

5.      Preparation for other great youth orchestra programs such as All-State, Governors Honors, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program (we have had a number of students in TDP through the years), various honor orchestras, music camps (national and international), and so on.

6.      Preparation for college music scholarships (whether as music majors, music minors, or some other field)

We are looking ahead to Trinidad & Tobago for July 2020.  More details to come.

On a sad note, My high school band director, Mr. Richard Hadley made his transition.  He taught me my 12th grade year to play saxophone.  I am so thankful for his instruction that I brought Sinfo-Nia to his hometown of Thomasville, GA in 2007 to perform at a high school.  He returned to Thomasville to live.  I attended the funeral on Friday.  As I returned home, I found out that my high school orchestra director, Mr. Ronald Walker had made his transition.  The highlight of my orchestra class was playing "Theme from Shaft" where we did not have any sheet music.  We all learned our parts by listening to the record.  The song was popular then ('71, '72).  I am so thankful of the days at Highland Park High School.  We probably had the top music department in the state of Michigan.  It was structured like a true music conservatory where many played in other groups outside of school (and more than one summer music camp), many took private lessons, many were on the honor roll, some even played in the band, the orchestra, and sang in the chorus, some played sports and still did not let that interfere with their music (even some that were in all three; and earned letters in all of them), plenty of great parental support (they raised plenty of money; the band can be seen in the remake of the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life"), plenty of great community support, and the realization that music was important in shaping the lives of the students.   

I would greatly appreciate you spreading the word especially for the Summer Camp.  Now is the time when many parents make their decisions which camps to enroll their children.  We do teach string students (violin, viola, cello, and double bass) on the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels, we are concentrating on those young students that want to begin playing one of these instruments.   On another note, Sinfo-Nia will have another grand celebration on Thursday, June 25, 2020  It will be Sinfo-Nia's 30th Anniversary.  We keep on keepin' on.  Have a wonderfully blessed day.

Sincerely,
David E. Robinson III
Founder & Artistic Director
Still Waters Youth Sinfo-Nia

Please check out our website at www.sinfo-nia.com

Included are some awesome music videos.