The Joyce C. Levy Scholarship Vision Statement
The Joyce C. Levy Scholarship Program helps selected Tune Up Philly-Orchestral Pathways Program (TUP) scholars develop the prerequisite skillsets necessary to successfully matriculate to the next level of their musical education through private studio instruction. The program provides six nominated TUP students each year with weekly private lessons, access to their loaned instrument, and a stipend for instrument accessories, maintenance, repairs, and music materials.
Through Tune Up Philly, the PYO Music Institute offers free after-school music education in hopes of reducing barriers to participation in instrumental youth music programs. Current annual costs per student exceed $2,000, which includes costs of loaned-instruments, instruction, performance, transportation, and concert opportunities. The Joyce C. Levy Scholarship Fund allows Tune Up Philly to accelerate its impact, promising students transformative group class settings to one-on-one private lessons with a qualified private studio teacher.
Support this vital pathway scholarship program.
About Joyce C. Levy
An avid musician and music educator, Joyce Carlin Levy began her piano studies as a child at the Dalcroze School of Music and with Lillian Reznikoff Wolfe of the Julliard Institute. She graduated in 1949 from the High School of Music and Art (M&A est. 1936 – now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts), where she also studied oboe. Mrs. Levy earned an A.B. in Music Education from Brooklyn College and an M.S. in Music Education from Queens College. She continued her piano studies in Master Classes with Dr. Bela Nagy at Tanglewood and Master Classes with Menachem Pressler at Indiana University. Mrs. Levy taught music for thirty years in the Lindenhurst Public School District.
As the Music Director for many summers at Camp Blue Ridge and Camp Equinunk, she directed numerous musical productions and composed songs for the camps. For many years, Mrs. Levy wrote program notes for the Friends of the Arts Music Series at Post College on Long Island. Following her retirement from teaching, she resumed her piano studies initially with Lily Friedman of the New York Trio and music director of Summertrios. In the fall of 1995, Ms. Levy became a student of concert pianist and Steinway Artist, Temuri Akhobadze. Ms. Levy remained active in chamber music, most notably Summertrios in Pennsylvania, and at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference in Vermont. She was a frequent guest performer with the Arista String Quartet of Long Island as an accompanist to both singers and instrumentalists.
Mrs. Levy (pictured above in 1948) was appreciative of the piano lessons made available to her at a young age by her parents, Bess and Al Carlin, and her grandmother, Miriam Lehrer. Mrs. Levy believed in the value of music education and the enrichment that music and all of the arts can bring to our daily lives.
This scholarship program reflects Joyce C. Levy’s belief in the accessibility of music education. See the 2024 list of recipients below along with additional supporting donors to this vital program.
About Our Impact in the Community
Our recently published 2022 – 2023 Impact Report details stories of student success and highlights the diversity of our participants and programs. For PYO Music Institute, music itself is not the singular goal, but it is a means to provide experiences that build our students’ confidence, character, and leadership skills through music.
About Tune Up Philly
Tune Up Philly-Orchestral Pathways Program (TUP) offers children in the greater Philadelphia region who live in challenging social and economic conditions opportunities to learn and perform instrumental music in after-school settings. More than just teaching music, Tune Up Philly focuses on under-resourced neighborhoods and provides vital safe spaces and creative outlets for elementary students after school. In the 2023-2024 season, 100 students participated in immersive group classes, rehearsals, large ensemble opportunities, and performances in major performing arts venues across the City of Philadelphia.