The students at P.S. 46, an elementary school at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, took their musical talents to Broadway on Wednesday with a performance at the Young Audiences New York annual benefit at the Marriot Marquis.

Under a Young Audiences New York program, the students are training their voices with the help of professional artists for 16 weeks.

“Having the kids from P.S. 46 was a highlight,” the organization’s executive director, Joanne Bernstein-Cohen, said. “It really brought the entire feeing of what we do at Young Audiences New York into the room.”

The nonprofit places professional artists – including musicians, dancers, architects, and painters – in more than 250 New York City public schools. Most schools pay for the organization’s programs, but in some in stances, the organization also makes a contribution. At a few schools, the organization contributes more than 75% of the costs.

“What we try to do is create unforgettable learning moments for kids across the city,” said Ms. Bernstein-Cohen, a former music teacher turned arts educator and nonprofit administrator.

Artists create customized curricula. “The best-case scenario is that the schools we work with have arts specialists, so that kids are getting a basic level of arts education. Then what we can come in to do is a very different kind of residency,” Ms. Bernstein-Cohen said. One residency focused on modernism, and included outings to a performance of the Martha Graham Dance Company and to the Noguchi Museum in Queens.

Being a teaching artist for Young Audiences New York is a coveted and paid position. Annual teaching fees come to $1 million for the more than 200 artists on the roster. New artists are evaluated first on the quality of their work, then on their ability to teach. “Some people can be extraordinary artists, but they may not have the ability to share that,” Ms. Bernstein-Cohen said.

The organization has a strong focus on professional development. “We don’t expect artists to be fully evolved as teachers when they come on board,” Ms. Bernstein-Cohen said.

Another component of the residency is outreach to families. Young Audiences New York sponsors family outings and distributes an arts guide for families, published in English and Spanish. “We address what to wear, where to sit – we want [parents] to feel comfortable with taking advantage of what the city offers,” Ms. Bernstein-Cohen said.

While the organization’s budget has increased to $3.2 million from $1.5 million over the past seven years, the trend is to form more intensive relationships with fewer schools. For example, the organization has just formalized a partnership with the International School for the Arts and Business to develop an arts curriculum.

The event, which raised $500,000, honored the president of the advertising agency Carat USA, Charles Rutman, the executive producer of “Law & Order: SVU,” Dr. Neal Baer, and the late actor and dancer Gregory Hines.

Hines’s daughter Daria Hines noted how much her father valued arts education. “My dad was a big kid himself! It was very important for him to carry on the tradition of the arts, especially tap,” Ms. Hines said.

The corporate chairmen of the event were Dick Lippin, Nora McAniff, Jo Ann Ross, Fran Saperstein, and David Verklin. Two members of the board of Young Audiences of New York, Julie Kantrowitz and Beverly Weinstein were the benefit’s chairwomen.