Paterson NJ Music Project hosts festival in its 10th year


Hours before Paterson’s first city-wide music festival in nearly 20 years, violinist Hector Otero wasn’t nervous, even though the ill conductor was still absent. As a concertmaster, his 17-year-old Otero had to intervene with his classmates and attend the final rehearsal.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” says Otero, as the sounds of controlled strings, horns and drums echoed through a nearby practice room.

High school senior Otello, who won a full-ride scholarship to study music at Montclair State University, proves the poise of a veteran performer. The Paterson Music Project is her 10th year nonprofit, a state-funded arts education program offered at affordable prices after school and on weekends.

The music project, which began in 2013 with just 30 students, now has two locations in Paterson (PS 16 and Community Charter School) and another in Woodland Park, serving a combined total of 470 students. offers. At Saturday’s event, the All-City Festival, the musical talents of more than 250 of his students from his 28 Paterson schools at John F. Kennedy High School echoed in the hallways.


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