Professor Joseph and Harlem Teens Raise
the Roof at 80th Academy Awards

Feb. 25, 2008

Columbia Professor Jamal Joseph and twelve Harlem teens with the IMPACT Repertory Theatre fulfilled the dream of a lifetime Sunday when they performed live at the 80th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The students sang Raise It Up.

 

The song, which they performed in the movie August Rush, was nominated for Best Original Song. Two of the students co-wrote the piece with the group's artistic director, Joseph, chair of the film division of Columbia University's School of the Arts.

 

IMPACT Repertory Theatre, founded in 1997, is a Harlem-based company for 12- to 19-year-olds that empowers youth through performing arts and leadership training. The teens who performed, all of whom live in Harlem, traveled to Hollywood on Wednesday with Joseph.