LIVINGSTON — "School of Rock" is coming back to Staten Island, but this time it won't be a movie.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center announced a new six-week program aimed to teach kids the basics of playing in a rock band that will culminate with a performance in their historic Music Hall, which has hosted the likes of Norah Jones and David Bowie.
"Snug Harbor and its 122-year-old Music Hall have a long history of hosting first-rate musical artists," Snug Harbor CEO Lynn Kelly said in a release. "Now, it's especially exciting for us to be involved in creating the potential stars of tomorrow."
The program, run by Rockit!, which offers the same course in New Jersey, gives budding rock stars aged 8 to 18 lessons on drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, brass and other instruments, Snug Harbor said. They also teach students vocal lessons, they said.
The curriculum takes classic albums like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and The Who's "Next" to create their own arrangements with students' individual interpretation as well as lessons, Snug Harbor said.
Kids who already take lessons on an instrument can audition on Sept. 20 to get into the November program, and students will be paired off into bands and given 90-minute weekly rehearsals.
The program emphasizes live, stage performances, and bands created at Snug Harbor will play a concert open to the public on Dec. 13, 7 p.m., at the center's Music Hall.
Applications for the program must be in by Sept. 19. Auditions for the program take place on September 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Snug Harbor and cost $15 to enter. The six-week program costs $435. For more information, visit Snug Harbor's website.