Notes from 108th Street

Monday, April 1, 2019 is our annual Notes from 108th Street Fundraiser, this year celebrating Burton Kassell, long-time Board Member. We will honor Burton’s long commitment to Bloomingdale and our students with performances by faculty, students, and guest stars. The event will once again take place at beautiful Broadway Presbyterian Church. It is not to be missed!

Acknowledged as the longest serving member of Bloomingdale School of Music's board of directors, Burton Kassell first moved to the Upper West Side in 1962. Born in Brooklyn, and a graduate of Baruch School of Business class of 1958, he began a career in sales and later ventured in to real estate. He is the chief executive officer of the Palidrome Corporation which he founded in 1974 as a multifamily residential owner, developer and manager. Kassell fondly remembers the neighborhood in the 1960's saying, "In warm weather you would hear a lot of music because windows would be open and people would be singing or playing the piano..."

It was a lucky happenstance that one day in the 1960s he noticed a double line of very young children holding hands walking from their public school (where they had no music program) to Bloomingdale School of Music. It was this sight that so moved him to discover David Greer and the work of Bloomingdale resulting in a contribution of $1,000. His support of BSM then and now is fueled by his love for children, his belief in the transformational power of music education, and the desire to ensure access to high quality music education for all who seek it.

While designated "a listener" rather than a "singer" by his first grade teacher, he is known to play a mean set of spoons. He is an avid listener, having discovered in his teens a love for torch singers from all cultures starting with Billie Holiday, followed by Umm Kulthum, Amalia Rodrigues, and his favorite of all time the Mexican vocalist Chavela Vargas. His move uptown invigorated his interest in jazz, which had begun at the original 5 Spot on the Bowery, listening to and chatting with the great Thelonious Monk.

To Kassell, a music education is part of being a well rounded person, as essential as reading or looking at art. His belief in the importance and value of BSM extends to his own family, with four of his five children and two grandchildren having attended the school.

His support for the arts includes time spent backing Broadway plays, collecting art, supporting contemporary artists, and serving on the Board of Directors of Art Space, nonprofit with a mission is to create, foster, and preserve affordable and sustainable space for artists and arts organizations.

JOIN US at the event by purchasing tickets at http://bit.ly/Notesfrom108thStreet 

Cocktail Casual