“There are signs that music education in [Philadelphia] may be on the way back up,” writes Peter Dobrin in Thursday’s (8/3) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Intensive after-school neighborhood music programs like Play On, Philly! and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Tune Up Philly have been up and running for a few years now. The All City Orchestra program has new energy and increased support from the School District of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Orchestra. … The ArtistYear program will place 12 arts teaching fellows in area schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families.… The Mann Center is pondering a bigger role…. The William Penn Foundation has boosted its emphasis on arts education [with] more than $12 million to arts education during the past four years.… The Mellon Foundation recently awarded more than $2.5 million to a new program called the Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth aimed at talent from under-represented communities…. This summer, an 11-year-old violinist from Grays Ferry and a 13-year-old double-bass player and 17-year-old clarinetist from the Northeast have all been able to join Symphony in C’s music camp…. The Neubauer Family Foundation is working to figure out what arts education programs are here already to determine what’s needed.”
Posted August 8, 2017
