Energized by the startup of its El Sistema – Trenton program, Trenton Community Music School is joining forces with the Arts Council of Princeton to present a premiere screening event of Crescendo: The Power of Music, in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

The film will be introduced by Jamie Bernstein, director. Bernstein is a writer, speaker and activist for music education, who inspired by her father Leonard Bernstein’s passion for teaching, has created this film about two El Sistema-inspired youth orchestras, Play on Philly! in West Philadelphia, and Harmony Project in Harlem. Since its inception in 1976, El Sistema, Venezuela’s phenomenal youth orchestra program, has changed millions of lives in the barrios of that country, and hundreds of El Sistema-inspired orchestras are now having a similar impact in struggling communities worldwide. El Sistema has also produced world-class musicians like Gustavo Dudamel, Music and Artistic Director of the LA Philharmonic.

In February of 2015, Trenton Community Music School launched its own orchestra program at Grant Elementary School in Trenton. Less than a year into its success, El Sistema – Trenton has performed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center as part of the NJ El Sistema Alliance, and as special guests of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in last month’s Holiday POPS! concert.

The screening of Crescendo: The Power of Music will take place on Monday, January 18 at 7 p.m. at the Arts Council of Princeton. The film will be preceded by a brief performance by Wood N Strings, a Trenton-based string quartet, and followed with a reception with Jamie Bernstein and Stanford Thompson, teaching artist and founder of Play on Philly!, featured in the film. Admission is free but seating is limited and reservations are strongly suggested. To RSVP, email info@trentoncommunitymusic.org.