“Music has impacted, in many ways, the students of the Simply Strings program at Sheppard Accelerated Elementary School in Santa Rosa,” writes Mayra Lopez in Tuesday’s (3/3) La Prensa Sonoma, a Spanish-language news site in Santa Rosa, California. These excerpts are translated from the original Spanish. “With the guidance of the Santa Rosa Symphony, children are learning to play classical string music, while developing social skills and self-confidence…. Simply Strings was founded in 2013 by Christina Penrose, then a Master’s student at Sonoma State University…. She now directs the Institute for Musical Education of the Santa Rosa Symphony. Penrose created the program with the ‘El Sistema’ model in mind…. ‘El Sistema’ is a Venezuelan musical program aimed at social justice, created with the vision of bringing musical education to underserved communities…. There are currently 61 students enrolled in Simply Strings, who receive free music education five days a week, and have access to the instruments. Participants are students ranging from elementary to high school, and the majority are students of the Sheppard Accelerated Elementary School. But the program is also open to other students. Participants not only learn musical skills; they also develop passion and discipline.”
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