BRIDGES–Music for Baltimore's Children
Launched in the fall of 2006, the Bridges Program served over 80 Baltimore City public school students in its first year. Working within existing elementary school after-school programs, the twice-weekly lessons on violin, viola, cello, and double-bass offered by the Bridges Program were met with great enthusiasm by students and families. In May 2007, Bridges students presented a program for their families and friends to showcase what they had learned over the course of the year.
During the second year of the Bridges Program, returning students will continue with class lessons and Sunday orchestral rehearsals in the same format as the first year. However, the twice-weekly classes will be arranged more closely along ability levels. The goal of the second year is that students reach the skill level required to be able to play as members of the Sinfonia, GBYO's beginning ensemble.
The Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestras' long-term goal for Bridges students is to identify those who wish to continue to develop their skills as musicians, and to support them toward this goal throughout their school years with assistance in arranging private lessons, acquiring a good instrument on which to practice and perform, and participating in the GBYO's different orchestras. One of the primary missions of the GBYO is to provide access to its orchestras without regard to financial circumstances, and the Bridges Program addresses this challenge from the very beginning, when many children simply do not have access to music instruction because of the expense of lessons and instruments.
A major challenge for the GBYO is identifying financial supporters for the Bridges Program; providing quality music education is not inexpensive, given that each child needs his or her own instrument. Those instruments require maintenance. Finding and keeping the best teaching staff means paying that staff well. And providing "extra" experiences for the students, like a trip to attend a Soulful Symphony or Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert, will have at least transportation costs associated with it. We have already seen inspiring results, after just one year, and know that this experience is truly changing the lives of many of these children.
View the Bridges Mission, Goals, Partnerships, Program Components, and Program Evaluation.
This project is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and is funded in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
