Welcome Home McCoy Tyner Fest Press Conference Scheduled

SPECIAL STEINWAY ART CASE COLLECTION PIANO VALUED AT OVER $250,000 MAKES TOUR STOP @ WRTI In HONOR OF McCOY TYNER

Philadelphia, PA.: On Tuesday, May 9th at 10 am at WRTI studios, Temple University, 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, 3rd Floor, MUSICOPIA (formerly Strings for Schools), in collaboration with LIFELINE MUSIC COALITION, INC. will hold a press conference to announce the WELCOME HOME McCOY TYNER FESTIVAL scheduled at Temple University on May 19th & 20th, 2006.

On Friday, May 19th at 8 pm, living jazz legend and Philly native McCoy Tyner will perform at Temple University's Tomlinson Theatre, 1301 W. Norris Street, Philadelphia, PA. (tickets $35). Philadelphia public school students have been invited to attend a student concert and Question & Answer session with Mr. Tyner on Friday at 1 pm preceding his concert. On Saturday, May 20th from noon to 6 pm, at Temple's Student Activity Center (Banquet Hall) will hold a community festival in honor of McCoy Tyner ($10 ticket). During the festival, vendors will sell unique arts and crafts and Philly live bands will perform including: Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble; Alfie Pollitt; Marlon Simon Latin Jazz Band; Doc Gibbs Ensemble; John Blake Jr.; Gary Bartz; Temple University Youth Orchestra and Gabriel's Music: South Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. The festivities on Saturday will culminate in an award ceremony for McCoy Tyner where he will receive a City of Philadelphia citation and be honored by friends and family including WRTI's Harrison Ridley Jr.

Jacob's Music Company has added the McCoy Tyner events to its list of Philadelphia stops for the STEINWAY ART CASE COLLECTION TOUR PIANO, which will be on display at WRTI studio during the press conference on May 9th and will be played by McCoy Tyner at the May 19th concert and by other pianists on the May 20th community festival. The Steinway Art Case Collection Tour grand pianos are specially handcrafted, one of a kind pianos each valued at over $255,000.

Tickets for the McCoy Tyner concert at Tomlinson Theatre Concert on Friday, May 19th are $35 each and are available from Upstages at 215-569-9700.

Tickets for the McCoy Tyner celebration on Saturday, May 20th are $10 and are available at the door.

The WELCOME HOME McCOY TYNER festival is made possible by a grant from the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by the University of the Arts.

“We are delighted to bring McCoy back home to Philly in what will be a true community event, with an incredible array of talent performing, “says Denise Kinney, newly appointed Executive Director of MUSICOPIA.

MUSICOPIA (formerly Strings for Schools) is a leading, non-profit scholastic music education organization dedicated to providing high- quality music education programs and services to school children and communities in the Greater Philadelphia area. Over the past 31 years, funding for MUSICOPIA programs have enabled more than 1.5 million Philadelphia-area students to experience the magic of music and make it a meaningful part of their lives.

LifeLine Music Coalition, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and preserve jazz and the arts in Philadelphia. LifeLine Music Coalition, produced the first ever 3-day 2003 Philadelphia Jazz and Poetry Festival in September 2003 and has produced the '04, '05 and currently '06 West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival, which just last year hired over 500 musicians and attracted over 100,000 visitors.

Contact: Denise Kinney, Executive Director, MUSICOPIA /215-829-9522
Graziella D'Amelio - LIFELINE MUSIC COALITON, INC. /609-680-7670