Free Music Masterclasses: Global Rhythms, Improv, Composition & Ensemble Playing
A series of World Music • Improvisation • Songwriting masterclasses, workshopping rhythms from around the world, improvisation, composition, songwriting and ensemble playing.
Join Garden Players’ Free Music Masterclasses — a musical journey for grades 3–12 exploring songwriting, rhythm, collaboration, and world music.
Led by professional musicians Nick Russo and Betina Hershey, students will jam, write, and perform original music in a live January concert (tickets sold separately).
Choose between the Advanced Track (Dec 7, Dec 14, Jan 18, Concert Jan 25. Application and video required) or the Open Community Workshop (Jan 18. Registration required, no audition. Apply before the class fills up.).
Teens with their own bands can also receive feedback and coaching on their songwriting, performance, improvisation, and the music business.
🎶 Master Teachers:
🎸🪕 Nick Russo (Banjo Nickaru, producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist for The Scooches) performs with legends such as Paul McCartney, Jon Batiste, The Hot Sardines, Deep Singh, Joe Piscopo, Dr. David Pleasant, and Russell Hall, and late greats Jimmy McGriff, Teddy Charles, and Sonny Dallas. Nick has performed internationally from Japan to Brazil and across the U.S., and can be seen on ABC’s Good Morning America, in Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, and Elizabeth McGovern’s The Chaperone.
🎤 Betina Hershey (director/writer/educator for Garden Players, co-band leader and composer/lyricist for The Scooches) has appeared in Mona Lisa Smile and Disney’s Enchanted, toured internationally as Meg in Phantom of the Opera and Anybodys in West Side Story, written five published musicals performed worldwide, and composed hundreds of songs — including those featured on The Scooches‘ #1 Album (FAI Folk Chart) “Lift You Up.” She also performs with The Hot Sardines, Hot Jazz Jumpers, and The Creswell Club.
🎼 Two Ways to Participate
1️⃣ Advanced Track (video audition and application required)
For experienced students in grades 5–12 who want to go deeper into rhythm, harmony, songwriting, arranging, and performance.
Participants will work closely with Nick and Betina to develop their own musical ideas and collaborate on an original piece to perform at the January 25th concert. (Advanced Workshop Dates may be flexible based on talent availability, so if you are not available for specific dates but are interested, please apply and let us know your availability.)
To apply, please submit:
– A short video (1–2 minutes) of you performing, writing, or improvising — singing or on your instrument.
– A short paragraph sharing what you hope to gain from this experience.
📅 Applications due November 23rd.
Applicants will be notified by November 28th.
2️⃣ Open Community Workshop (registration required, no audition or video)
Open to all 3rd–12th-grade instrumentalists, vocalists, and songwriters who want to explore creativity, rhythm, harmony, improvisation, and ensemble playing in a welcoming, collaborative environment.
Advanced registration is required for the Open Jam, but no video or audition is needed.
🌱 Whether you’ve been playing for years or are just beginning to explore music, there’s a place for you here.
🎶 This program is free, made possible by a generous Mockingbird Foundation Tour Grant (funded by fans of the band: Phish).
📍 Workshops and concert take place in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City
A collaboration between Garden Players & The Scooches.
More About The Grant Funding This Band Workshop
SUMMER TOUR GRANTS ANNOUNCED
https://mbird.org/2025/07/summer-2025-tour-grants
July 8, 2025
In celebration of Phish’s current summer tour (June 20 to July 27), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grants to a music program in each of the ten cities in which the band is performing, for a total of $20,000 in unsolicited Tour Grants:
- Manchester High School of Manchester, NH (near SNHU Arena, June 20, 21, & 22) for new snare drums for their drumline
- Carrick High School (Pittsburgh Public Schools) Band/Chorus of Pittsburgh, PA (near Petersen Events Center, June 24) for a First Annual Music Summer Camp to prep students for school-year performances
- Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders (via Ann Richards School Foundation) of Austin, TX (near Moody Center, June 27 & 28) to purchase new drum heads, sticks, and mallets along with a few other percussion supplies for the upcoming marching season
- Boulder MUSE of Boulder, CO (near Folsom Field, July 3, 4, & 5) for instructor compensation for free classes for primarily native Spanish-speaking students
- We Amplify Voices of Columbus, OH (near Schottenstein Center, July 9) for a Children’s Summer Music Camp
- Northwoods Middle School of North Charleston, SC (near North Charleston Coliseum, July 11, 12, & 13) for a piano lab
- School District of Philadelphia / Lewis C. Cassidy Academic Plus School of Philadelphia, PA (near TD Pavilion at the Mann, July 15 & 16)
- Prosser Career Academy High School JROTC of Chicago, IL (near United Center, July 18, 19, & 20) for new band equipment
- Garden Players (via Fractured Atlas) of Forest Hills, NY (near Forest Hills Stadium, July 22 & 23) to fund a free band workshop for local students
- Skidmore Jazz Institute at Skidmore College of Saratoga Springs, NY (near Broadview Stage at SPAC, July 25, 26, & 27) for kids’ summer camp student activities
This makes a total of 236 Mockingbird Tour Grants, and the 32nd instance of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals $321K, which is 11.5% of all disbursements made by the foundation. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities which have welcomed and hosted the Phish community for the band’s performances.
The Mockingbird Foundation is an all-volunteer, fan-founded and -managed 501(c)3 nonprofit organization supporting music education for children. A leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has now made 762 grants in all 50 states, totaling more than $2.75M. Funds for grants are generated through donations from a loyal base of fans, as well as through books, recordings, artwork, merchandise, and special events. Mockingbird is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through phish.net (and three associated books, so far) since 1994. The Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff, since its inception in 1996.
Looking for our Musical Theater Classes for Kids (Grades K–9)?
We still have room in our show classes for 1st-5th graders, and a waiting list for 6th-9th graders! 🌟
👉 More info at GardenPlayers.com/classes