The Mentor Program

The Mentor Program is a competitive professional youth development program designed for students in grades 9-12 to prepare them for a professional career in the arts. Mentors receive individualized and specialized instruction from professional musicians and artists via private lessons and ensembles while learning to become leaders in their community by mentoring younger BMS students and performing/assisting at various events - at BMS, Brooklyn, and beyond.

The Mentor Program fosters the growth and development of three main areas: education, work/study, and artistic development. For the Education portion, Mentors will assist with classes in the Arts Reaching Youth program. After assisting and observing class management, course instruction, and concepts/repertoire, mentors will present a concept or exercise to the class at the end of each month. The class instructor will observe the presentation and provide constructive feedback. For the work/study component, Mentors will be trained to assist with various aspects of running an event. This consists of learning job duties such as Front of House, Stage Hand, and Production. Mentors will be assigned to several events each semester so they gain practical experience to supplement their training. The Artistic Development portion of the Mentor Program consists of a variety of workshops, live performance events, and a songwriting/recording project designed to give mentors the opportunity to gain real-world professional experience while developing their artistic voices. With this three pronged approach BMS aims to give our mentors the skills and experience to pursue their passion in the arts.

Prospective mentors must audition with their preferred artistic medium as well as interview with the Mentor Director to ensure they are a great fit for the program. An elite group of 10-12 Mentors are accepted each semester. Once accepted, all Mentor Program students receive a 100% scholarship which covers one private lesson and one 60 minute ensemble participation per week for the duration of their time in the program.

For more information on the program please contact Bec Laughton at blaughton@brooklynmusicschool.org

Mentor commitments include:

  • Ensemble rehearsals and performances

  • Teaching assistants during the school year

  • Event assistants throughout the year including sound/lighting production, stage crew/management, box office, marketing, ushering and more

  • Mentor Director meetings, workshops & field trips

  • Songwriting/Recording Project including label co-write session, live recording, music business and release showcase

The BMS Mentor Program thanks the following donors for their support: