A 12-year-old girl has just made history after becoming one of the youngest composers to join the New York City Philharmonic Orchestra.
Grace Moore, from New York, is currently in 7th grade at Poly Prep in Dyker Heights, where she is enrolled in the Very Young Composers program. It is there where students are trained to make music.
Moore eventually created a composition that made a world premiere in live performance by the NY Philharmonic in October.
Moore began showing an interest in music at the age of two when her mother gifted her with a piano. It was immediately clear she had a talent and has honed on it ever since, according to a PIX11.
Gary Padmore, the director of the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program, said he hopes more children from a variety of backgrounds and ages will use Moore as an inspiration as they pursue their musical goals.
“Every child has the ability to be creative and tell their story,” Padmore told PIX11.
Moore said she hopes her accomplishments will help others to never give up on their dreams.
“I hope everyone follows their hobbies and do what they love,” she said.
In Sharese Pearson-Bush’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies at the University of New England’s dissertation entitled Students’ Perceptions and Experiences: African American Students in Band and Orchestra Programs, “music education programs enrich the lives of all students where music is the connection to academic strengths and cultural significances,” according to the National Association for Music Education. “These programs are also supported with national and state standards to structure curriculum. Instrumental music, such as band or orchestra (also known as strings), is defined as an academic discipline that engages cognitive, physical, and social skills through the creation of music.”
The report continues: “The art of playing an instrument does not require immense intelligence, but the skills acquired from playing an instrument empower students’ academic abilities and strengthen psychosocial development. Music education, specifically instrumental music programs, are anchors of a well-rounded education accredited on state and federal levels.”
