Janet Wolfe, Advisor

Janet Wolfe, founder of the New York City Housing Symphony Orchestra, was a long-time patron of minority musicians. She hosted a gala benefit concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall featuring many of New York City's finest minority musicians every February in honor of Black History Month. The NYC Housing Symphony Orchestra has a rich history that began back in 1971 with Janet Wolfe, a single mother of two daughters, who founded the classical orchestra for NYCHA residents. Simeon Golar, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman at the time, is said to have asked Ms. Wolfe to create the orchestra as a way to expose NYCHA residents to classical music—a genre of music that he wished he had been exposed to as a child. "We're trying to broaden their outlook," says Wolfe "especially the children." The orchestra also provided performance opportunities for minority musicians in a town where paid gigs can be scarce. The group became less a full orchestra in recent years than a set of smaller string, woodwind, brass and jazz ensembles that perform in the courtyards and community centers of the city's public housing developments and throughout New York City.

Impressive is the star-studded group of patrons who have supported her work—a list that includes former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Harry Belafonte and Max Roach. Mr. Roach once said of Janet: "She has provided more work for Black, Hispanic and Asian players than anyone in New York. It's probably the only orchestra in the country that gives minority musicians, including Black composers and conductors, an opportunity to perform classical music with a symphony orchestra." A champion of the NYC Housing Symphony Orchestra, Max Roach performed twice with the group. Ms. Wolfe always had the ability to attract some famous musicians to play with and for the orchestra, including the late former associate principal horn player of the New York Philharmonic Jerome Ashby and pianist/conductor Awadagin Pratt among many, many others. Just about every classical musician of color and accomplishment in New York knew Janet or has played with the NYC Housing Symphony Orchestra at some point or another.

Janet Wolfe's efforts were featured in various articles in the media such as the New York Times, the Daily News and on the website Africlassical.com. Ralph Blumenthal wrote in an article in the New York Times, published August 8, 1996 in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the New York City Housing Authority Symphony “when it comes to putting live classical music where the people are, the New York City Housing Authority Symphony plays second fiddle to none. The orchestra and its chamber ensembles have been concertizing free in plazas of the city's 340 public housing developments. They introduce audiences who might not make it to Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center to live classical and jazz performances, and in particular they showcase black musicians long under-represented in the classical concert halls."

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Janet besides her spirit, longevity and the work she has done is that she really did care about people and was always there with her help and support. Janet Wolfe's work and legacy was also the inspiration behind the creation of a new group, The Harlem Chamber Players, of which Janet was a founding board member and loyal supporter. The group and the series' founder Liz Player hopes to continue Janet's legacy well into the future, providing a platform for musicians of color and bringing high caliber, affordable and accessible live chamber music to people in the Harlem community and beyond.