Registration Now Open For Tuition-Free Alon Music School In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — INTEMPO and The Norwalk Art Space announced this week registration is officially open for The Alon Music School, a new tuition-free, year-round music school that will provide high-quality music education to children throughout Norwalk beginning this September.

According to a news release provided by INTEMPO, elementary, middle and high school students with varying
levels of musical experience are welcome.

Fall 2026 and spring 2027 classes will take place after school and on weekends at the art space and include:

• Choir (Mondays).

• Strings (Tuesdays).

• Guitar and Ukulele (Thursdays).

• String Orchestra (Saturdays).

The Alon Music School will officially celebrate its grand opening Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the art space, located at 455 West Avenue in Norwalk, welcoming students, families, supporters and community members to mark the beginning of this exciting new chapter, according to the release.

Refreshments will be provided by The Art Space Cafe.

According to the release, The Alon Music School is named in honor of the late Alon Panovka, whose love of music, generous spirit and commitment to expanding free education at The Norwalk Art Space continue to inspire those who knew him.

The school will offer free instruction in strings, choir, guitar, ukulele and ensemble performance.

"Thanks to the generosity of Alon and his family and friends, all Norwalk families will be able to participate regardless of their financial circumstances," the release reads. "The school aims to serve approximately 100 students in its inaugural year, and has an endowment that already exceeds $500,000 to ensure its long-term sustainability."

The Alon Music School will be operated by INTEMPO and hosted at the art space, combining INTEMPO's nationally recognized expertise in music education and creative youth development with the art space's commitment to providing accessible arts opportunities to all children in the greater Norwalk community, according to the release.

"Alon was instrumental in launching The Norwalk Art Space and supporting our music programs," Robin Panovka, board chair of The Norwalk Art Space, said in a news release. "He was a brilliant, kind and generous man, and we hope his spirit will be reflected in our students' musical development and pursuit of excellence."

"It has been an honor to work alongside Alon over the years to establish The Norwalk Art Space as a beacon of artistic freedom and inclusion for all," Duvian Montoya, executive director of The Norwalk Art Space, said in a release. "This generous endowment is a testament to that shared vision and ensures that our commitment to providing free access to the arts will continue to flourish for years to come."

According to the release, The Alon Music School is made possible through a network of community partnerships. The school's strings program is supported in part by the Norwalk Youth Symphony (NYS), one of the country's leading youth orchestras, and the city of Norwalk.

"The Alon Music School represents the kind of collaboration our community needs — organizations working together to remove barriers and create meaningful opportunities for young musicians," Sara Watkins, executive director of NYS, said in a news release.

The Alon Music School will be led by its inaugural program manager, Shabnam Abedi, an accomplished educator, vocalist and arts advocate.

Abedi holds a master's degree in jazz studies from The Juilliard School, where she became the institution's first South Asian American jazz voice graduate, according to the release.

Recently, she made her debut as a member of the New York Philharmonic Chorus under the direction of their incoming music and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel, according to the release.

As program manager, Abedi will oversee student recruitment, family engagement, community partnerships, artistic planning and day-to-day operations of The Alon Music School, according to the release.

"INTEMPO and The Norwalk Art Space have been such powerful forces through their work in music and art education," Abedi said in a news release. "I couldn't be more excited to be at the intersection of these two dynamic teams."

The Alon Music School will also feature a composer-in-residence program.

According to the release, the inaugural composer-in-residence will be composer, violinist, pianist and educator Icli Zitella, whose work explores the intersections of classical music, storytelling and contemporary culture.

In addition to serving as composer-in-residence, Zitella will join the faculty as the school's string ensemble
teaching artist, according to the release.

In this dual role, he will compose original works tailored to the ensemble, providing young musicians with the unique opportunity to learn and perform music written specifically for them, according to the release.

By integrating composition, performance and education, the residency will offer students a rare window into the creative process while helping them develop their voices as musicians and collaborators, according to the release.

"Writing music tailored specifically to these young musicians within the vibrant, living fine arts studio of The Norwalk Art Space is an incredible privilege," Zitella said in a news release. "This setting creates the ideal atmosphere for students to connect sound and sight, turning rehearsals into a multidisciplinary laboratory where composition and visual inspiration meet. My goal is to show our students that they are active collaborators in bringing new art to life."

More information is available at intempo.org and thenorwalkartspace.org.