22-year-old music prodigy Matthew Whitaker is giving back to the school that shaped his future. Hailing from Hackensack, New Jersey the jazz-pianist, whose been blind since birth, has been performing around the world for nearly a decade. However, the Emmy-nominated composer has overcome the challenge of being blind with the help of The Filomen M. D’ Agostino Greenberg Music School.
This Manhattan based non-profit stands as one of the only community music schools in the country dedicated to helping people with vision loss or blindness. In turn, Matthew Whitaker is giving back to the school where under director of music studies, Dalia Sakas, his talent blossomed at 5-years-old and later performing around the world by his pre-teens.
Over the years Whitaker has made appearances on numerous network television programs showcasing his talents, including CBS’s 60 Minutes, NBC’s Ellen and FOX TV’s Showtime at the Apollo. Nevertheless, Whitaker his prodigy status has been carved out with performance at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater.
Benefit Concert
Set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17th at Peter Norton Symphony Space in Manhattan, Matthew Whitaker’s FMDG Benefit Concert will help raise funds and awareness to support the school and its students. He will be performing along with his quartet and a select group of teen students from “The Fil.”
Since its inception, FMDG has helped more than 25,000 students, including notable talents such as jazz piano prodigy Matthew Whitaker and Grammy Award-winning musician and singer-songwriter Jose Feliciano. In light, the show will also feature the premiere of a new short film highlighting the FMDG Music School. Tickets are on sale on the Symphony Space website
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