Link Up Program Participants will present a Live Concert, with teachers and students nationwide for the 2025–2026 season
In collaboration with Carnegie Hall, Volta Music Foundation is participating in Link Up: The Orchestra Swings, a music education program provided by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), during the 2025–2026 season. The nearly 3,000 students participating in the Link Up program will attend a culminating concert on April 13th at The Parker where they sing and play the recorder or the violin with the orchestra from their seats. This experience often serves as a student’s first concert and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied.
Link Up addresses the urgent need for music instruction and resources by providing a free, high-quality, year-long curriculum that teachers can implement, along with printed and digital classroom material, and the professional development and support necessary to make the program an engaging experience for students. Through a partnership with Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Volta ensures that all enrolled Broward County public school participants receive recorder instruments at no cost and have the opportunity to perform at The Parker for their culminating concert experience.
Led locally by the Volta Music Foundation, the program is further supported by funding from organizations and sponsors, allowing it to remain completely free for schools and educators. In addition to classroom resources, students receive mentor visits and hands-on preparation leading up to their performance alongside a live symphony orchestra giving them a first-hand introduction to ensemble playing, the concert hall environment, and the full performance experience.
With over 40 years of impact nationwide, Link Up pairs orchestras with students in grades 3–5 to explore orchestral repertoire, fundamental musical skills, and creative expression, helping remove barriers and expand access to music education across local communities.
Volta Music Foundation is one of over 100 national and international organizations chosen for this program. Since 2003, Carnegie Hall has partnered with professional, community, and university orchestras across the US and around the world to support their existing education programs and strengthen their partnerships with local schools. In 2025–2026, Link Up will partner with sites in the United States, as well as in Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and Vietnam to serve more than 300,000 students and teachers globally. Visit carnegiehall.org/LinkUp for a complete list of participants and further details.
About Volta Music Foundation
Volta Music Foundation eliminates systematic barriers in music education by providing accessible music education programs and performance opportunities for underserved communities in South Florida. Volta reaches thousands of students yearly through Afterschool Music Programs at different public schools, Community Centers, and Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as online through its new E-Music Academy for homeschooled and virtual students. Volta also offers performance outreach at Children’s hospitals, Memory Centers, Libraries, and other learning sites for neurodivergent students.
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute produces an extraordinary range of music education and social impact programs each season that extend far outside the physical walls of the concert halls. These programs will reach hundreds of thousands of people in New York City, across the United States, and around the globe during the 2025–2026 season.
Sebastian Languidey
201-774-5210
[email protected]