Brooklyn Youth Music Project
About Us
The Brooklyn Youth Music Project (BYMP) was founded in 2008 under the direction of Kelly Howard. It began as the Brooklyn Youth Orchestra, a program of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and the Brooklyn Heights Music Society.
Supported early on by New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Arts Council, BYMP officially became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2011. Today, we continue to grow with support from government, foundations, corporations, and individuals who believe in the power of music to transform young lives.
BYMP now serves students across Brooklyn through high-quality instruction, ensemble experiences, and performance opportunities that foster skill, confidence, and community.
The History of BYMP
2008
It all started under the auspices of the Brooklyn Heights Music Society with one yearlong Youth Orchestra of 25 string players and a one-week Summer Music Program for String Orchestra with 20 participants.
2009
The Brooklyn Youth Orchestra added a second yearlong Youth Orchestra at the Intermediate level, with 15 string players; the Advanced Youth Orchestra grew to 30.
2010
After adding winds and brass, the Advanced Youth Orchestra grew to 40 players. The Intermediate String Orchestra was now 20 strong. Our Summer Music Programs, Suzuki String and String Orchestra and Chamber, grew to 60 total.
2011
The Brooklyn Youth Music Project incorporated as a nonprofit, stand-alone organization. The Advanced Youth Orchestra grew to 53; winds and brass were added to the Intermediate Youth Orchestra, now 27. The Summer Suzuki Workshop added cellos. The two Summer Music Programs served 80 children combined.
2012
BYMP established a Jazz Ensemble program. Our Summer Music Program grew to 90 participants.
2013
Our Jazz Ensemble Program grew to 20 children and we added jazz to our Summer programs. The three summer programs (Suzuki Strings, String Orchestra and Chamber Music, Jazz Ensembles) served 110 children.
2014
Presenting glorious opportunities for music-making, personal growth, and lifelong friendships, BYMP’s Summer Music Program reached an attendance of over 110 young musicians engaged in Suzuki, chamber music, string orchestra and jazz.
2015
In March, music making was alive and full. BYMP presented an impressive concert combining Intermediate Orchestra, Advanced Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble collaborating on a performance that brought them all together as one enormous ensemble. More than 90 children offering great music to our community! In May, all young jazz musicians were invited to participate in a free, day-long workshop organized by BYMP in collaboration with the Brooklyn Jazz Underground. Professional musicians performed with young musicians in a unique opportunity for both to realize musical dreams.
2016
In May, a reduced version of the Advanced Orchestra collaborated with dancers from the Martha Graham School Young Artists Program. The repertoire included Ravel's String Quartet and Copland's Quiet City and Hoedown. Performances were given at Perry Dance, the Brooklyn Dance Festival and the Martha Graham Dance Studio. In June, the BYMP Jazz Ensemble played in the BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech.
2017
In June, a reduced version of the orchestra made up of both intermediate and advanced players, as well as our two jazz ensembles, performed as part of the outdoor "Live at Seaglass" festival in Battery Park. This free community outreach event was fun for both the musicians and audience alike! In September, our senior jazz ensemble played as part of the 2nd Annual Green Thumb Harvest Fair sponsored by the NYC Dept. of Parks. And, in October they played as part of the Oktoberfest celebration sponsored by the Brooklyn Bavarian Biergarten.
2018
In April, the BYMP senior jazz ensemble performed at the Staten Island Children's Museum, as part of jazz appreciation month. In September, a chamber orchestra version of our Sinfonia orchestra performed at the Kings Plaza Mall, as part of a grand reopening weekend celebration. And by invitation, the senior jazz ensemble returned to the Brooklyn Bear's Community Garden to perform as part of the NYC Parks Dept. Green Thumb Harvest Fair.
2019
In fall 2019, the BYMP Sinfonia Orchestra welcomed guest conductor Maestro Grant Cooper for a special community concert at Old First Reformed Church. Students performed an ambitious program, including Cécile Chaminade’s Scherzo Colombine, in a free performance open to the public.
2020
Covid-19 pandemic hit and BYMP moved to online format for the spring and summer camp. In fall of 2020, thanks to the availability of Greenwood Music Space, BYMP moved to a hybrid format, alternating between in-person and online rehearsals and sectionals. Concerts were recorded and shared via YouTube. In December 2020, BYMP had its first online live streamed fundraiser, replacing the in-person May event that had to be cancelled, due to Covid. Guest artists, Colin Jacobsen, Simone Dinnerstein and Bruce Barth made the event a huge success.
2021
BYMP has an in-person summer camp at Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn in Bay Ridge. BYMP holds its first hybrid fundraiser; in-person at Soapbox Gallery (limited seating) and via live stream. Joe Levano is the guest artist.
2022
BYMP resumes in-person rehearsals at Old First Reformed Church. Performances are held both in-person (limited capacity) and via live stream at Old First (orchestra) and Soapbox Gallery (jazz). BYMP holds its second hybrid fundraiser; in-person at Soapbox Gallery (limited seating) and via live stream. Bruce Barth and Carla are the guest artists for a December holiday concert.
2023
June 2023, BYMP holds its first commissions concert. Composers Milad Yousufi (Grammy winner), Pablo Mayor (Folklore Urbano) and Angela Morris (Webber/Morris Big Band) wrote pieces for our ensembles. Terrance McKnight, from WQXR, hosted the event and moderated a conversation between the composers and BYMP's music directors. The concert took place at Roulette and was an in-person event, as well as live streamed.
2024
In December 2024, Colin and Eric Jacobsen (co-founders of The Knights), joined by violist Nick Cords and pianist Sophia Zhou, were the guest artists at BYMP's hybrid fundraiser.
2025
Marla Hirokawa, founder and artistic director of the Covenant Ballet Theater of Brooklyn, along with two of her staff teachers (Miss Rebecca and Mr. Joseph), taught movement classes (ballet, modern and jazz), as part of BYMP's summer camp Suzuki program.
Faculty and Staff
Pat Gunther has been Managing Director of Brooklyn Youth Music Project (BYMP) since 2016. She has more than 25 years of combined experience in non-profit arts administration and project management including arts in education programs, marketing, music education, and IT. She sits on the boards of directors of Lubec Area Musicians’ Philanthropic Society (LAMPS), a Maine-based nonprofit and Eight Strings and a Whistle a New York City-based trio ensemble. Pat also teaches piano and was the recipient of a Music Teachers National Association teachers grant in 2010.
Prior to BYMP, Pat worked for Symphony Space where she held positions as education coordinator, box office manager, and assistant director of marketing for ticket services. She is an active chamber musician on piano, and occasionally plays the flute. She studied theater and communications, with a minor in philosophy, at SUNY Fredonia and piano pedagogy at Westminster Choir College.
Kelly Howard is a violinist, teacher and conductor known throughout Brooklyn and the New York area. Kelly is a committed musician and educator who cares deeply about helping young people develop their technical and artistic skills in a musical setting. Through her work with the Brooklyn Youth Music Project, Kelly gives children the opportunity to build lifelong friendships built on a musical foundation. Her vision and dedication are a defining force of BYMP.
Kelly holds degrees in music education and performance from SUNY–Fredonia and has pursued graduate studies at Indiana University and the Manhattan School of Music. She has taught music at Brooklyn College, Concordia College, Long Island University and in the Valley Stream, NY public schools. She has been a guest clinician in Paris, in Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles and at The School for Strings in New York City. A highly regarded Suzuki teacher who trained at Ithaca College and Stephens Point, Kelly runs her own Suzuki Violin studio in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn. She is a conducting student of John Yaffe.
Brooklyn-based jazz drummer/composer and two-time JUNO nominee, Owen Howard has worked on the cutting edge of the New York City jazz scene for the past 20 years. Owen’ s passion for the drums did not begin until the age of 15. But as a young up-and-coming drummer in Edmonton, Canada, he had ample performance opportunities. There he honed his skills as a sideman with many fine Canadian and international artists passing through town. In 1988 he moved to New York to complete his BFA at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.
With five albums to his credit, Owen earned a 2011 JUNO award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year with “Drum Lore” (BJUR Records) and a 2015 nomination for his “Drum Lore, Vol. 2: More Lore.” He has appeared on over 40 recordings as a sideman and continues to tour the world over, both as a leader and a freelance artist in a wide range of musical contexts. As an educator, Owen has conducted workshops and clinics throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. He has taught on faculty at The Banff Centre of The Arts and the Maine Jazz Camp. Owen has held guest professorships at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, and the University of Fine Arts, Berlin.
Board of Directors
Magda Cruz, Chair
Phil Miller, Treasurer
Munsun Park, Secretary
Kelly Howard
Isabelle Jette
Suzanne Lipkin
Sharon Robustelli
Advisory Council
Hugo Barreca
Bruce Barth
Carla Cooke
Simone Dinnerstein
Colin Jacobsen
Zane Mark
Pablo Mayor
Milad Yousufi
Pat Gunther
Managing Director
Pat Gunther has been Managing Director of Brooklyn Youth Music Project (BYMP) since 2016. She has more than 25 years of combined experience in non-profit arts administration and project management including arts in education programs, marketing, music education, and IT. She sits on the boards of directors of Lubec Area Musicians’ Philanthropic Society (LAMPS), a Maine-based nonprofit and Eight Strings and a Whistle a New York City-based trio ensemble. Pat also teaches piano and was the recipient of a Music Teachers National Association teachers grant in 2010.
Prior to BYMP, Pat worked for Symphony Space where she held positions as education coordinator, box office manager, and assistant director of marketing for ticket services. She is an active chamber musician on piano, and occasionally plays the flute. She studied theater and communications, with a minor in philosophy, at SUNY Fredonia and piano pedagogy at Westminster Choir College.
Kelly Howard
Artistic Director
Kelly Howard is a violinist, teacher and conductor known throughout Brooklyn and the New York area. Kelly is a committed musician and educator who cares deeply about helping young people develop their technical and artistic skills in a musical setting. Through her work with the Brooklyn Youth Music Project, Kelly gives children the opportunity to build lifelong friendships built on a musical foundation. Her vision and dedication are a defining force of BYMP.
Kelly holds degrees in music education and performance from SUNY–Fredonia and has pursued graduate studies at Indiana University and the Manhattan School of Music. She has taught music at Brooklyn College, Concordia College, Long Island University and in the Valley Stream, NY public schools. She has been a guest clinician in Paris, in Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles and at The School for Strings in New York City. A highly regarded Suzuki teacher who trained at Ithaca College and Stephens Point, Kelly runs her own Suzuki Violin studio in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn. She is a conducting student of John Yaffe.
Owen Howard
Jazz Program Director
Brooklyn-based jazz drummer/composer and two-time JUNO nominee, Owen Howard has worked on the cutting edge of the New York City jazz scene for the past 20 years. Owen’ s passion for the drums did not begin until the age of 15. But as a young up-and-coming drummer in Edmonton, Canada, he had ample performance opportunities. There he honed his skills as a sideman with many fine Canadian and international artists passing through town. In 1988 he moved to New York to complete his BFA at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.
With five albums to his credit, Owen earned a 2011 JUNO award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year with “Drum Lore” (BJUR Records) and a 2015 nomination for his “Drum Lore, Vol. 2: More Lore.” He has appeared on over 40 recordings as a sideman and continues to tour the world over, both as a leader and a freelance artist in a wide range of musical contexts. As an educator, Owen has conducted workshops and clinics throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. He has taught on faculty at The Banff Centre of The Arts and the Maine Jazz Camp. Owen has held guest professorships at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, and the University of Fine Arts, Berlin.