By JESSICA TARTELL

Singer-songwriter Billy Joel—also known as "the Piano Man"—has made an unprecedented $300,000 gift to The Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program (MAP), part of a music education initiative launched by the Billy Joel Endowment Fund to provide support, musical scholarships, and endowments to a variety of music programs at colleges and universities on the East Coast. The money will be used over a two-year period to provide tuition assistance to 36 second-year MAP students per year. In honor of Mr. Joel's contribution, the MAP second-year orchestra has been renamed the Billy Joel Young Artist Orchestra and the 36 scholarship recipients—selected on the basis of their outstanding grades, attendance records, and overall performance—have been named Billy Joel Young Artists.

The MAP students who have received tuition assistance from the Billy Joel Endowment Fund for the 2005-06 school year. (Photo by Ives Photography)

A longtime advocate for music education, Mr. Joel first began holding "master class" sessions more than 20 years ago, at colleges across the country and around the world. Prior to becoming a rock-and-roll icon, he studied classical piano and was influenced by the works of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, and Schumann, in addition to other composers. In a move to return to his classical roots, Mr. Joel released Fantasies and Delusions in October 2001, a compilation of his solo classical piano pieces, which were performed by Richard Joo.

"We are very grateful to Mr. Joel for standing up and saying 'I'm going to fund these students with need,'" said Alison Scott-Williams, Juilliard's director of educational outreach. "We wish that everyone in the music entertainment industry could contribute to music education in such a meaningful way."

The Music Advancement Program is a two-year program providing music education and training to minority and disadvantaged students, ages 8-16, from New York City public schools. Students admitted into MAP have the opportunity to train at Juilliard every Saturday from September through May.

"It does a good thing for the students—it gives them some bragging rights," said Major Scurlock, a Juilliard alumnus and MAP piano faculty member, of the scholarships. "Not only are they at Juilliard, but now they are part of an elite group, looked after by an individual who has a great deal of respect for the program and for the School."

Although it is a great honor, being a part of MAP requires students and their families to make sacrifices. Students travel from all boroughs of New York each week, giving up their entire Saturday. Parents are required to commit to being involved for the full two years. They are encouraged to sit in on classes and join the MAP Parents' Association, and the whole family is encouraged to attend classes and recitals. Annually, MAP costs around $4,300 per student; the amount assessed each family is based on a sliding scale, with tuition ranging from a low of $125 to the full amount. Billy Joel's contribution, together with generous contributions received from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies, will ease the financial burden substantially.

While students enrolled in MAP are not of the Billy Joel generation, they are well aware of who he is and the importance he holds. "He's the Piano Man," said Shamire Juste, a 15-year-old pianist. "Being named a Billy Joel Young Artist means I've accomplished something; to be acknowledged like this means a lot."

The Music Advancement Program is designed not only to provide access to music education that inner-city students might not otherwise receive in their public schools, but also to change their lives, helping them to develop into confident, mature, responsible, and successful young adults. Judea Hill, a 14-year-old flutist, agrees. "I love this! I've learned so much. MAP has made me more mature. I come here and I'm serious. I come here for music. You laugh and play along the way, but then you have your serious moments. I am trying to reach for excellence." When her mother told her she was a Billy Joel Young Artist, she said, "I knew I had met my goals, I knew that I had achieved success."

Fourteen year-old trombone player Kelvin Garcia commutes more than an hour each way every Saturday to get to Juilliard, but he knows it is well worth the time. "MAP has had a profound impact on my life. It has helped me get into [LaGuardia] High School. Personally, MAP teaches you respect. I've been taught to honor this opportunity I've been given."

The Music Advancement Program can have a lasting influence on those who participate. Current Juilliard student and MAP alumna Adiza Sanchez-Rahim finds herself working in the Educational Outreach Office in her spare time. At orientation this fall, she spoke to incoming MAP students, letting them know what a wonderful thing it is for them to be here. "I had a great experience. It was very serious but a lot of fun," she recalled. "At that age, it was really important for me to be surrounded by kids who looked like me, doing what I was doing, because at my school that's not what kids were doing. It gave me the motivation to keep playing the violin. It's great for kids to see that they aren't the only one, that they aren't weird for playing [an instrument]."

Will these MAP students start a new trend at Juilliard by playing classic rock in addition to classic Bach? They are supported by open-minded faculty members—and of course, their parents. "I am very aware of the arts in relation to popular culture," said Scurlock. "I would be shocked if they brought some Billy Joel in to play, because Billy Joel is hard. But if a student said 'I want to learn a Billy Joel song,' I would say 'of course'—I would welcome it."

Kelvin Garcia would gladly accept the challenge of learning some of Joel's music. "I want to learn to play 'New York State of Mind.' The first time I heard it, I just fell in love with it."

The Billy Joel Young Artist Orchestra will perform in April as part of the MAP year-end concert. While everyone hopes that Mr. Joel will be in attendance to support his Young Artists, his presence and impact on the MAP community and the students will be felt for years to come.

The Music Advancement Program will host its winter concert on December 17 at 1 p.m. in Paul Hall. The concert is open to the public and no tickets are required.

Jessica Tartell is the contributions coordinator in the Office of Development and Public Affairs.