The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has announced a new initiative that will provide instruments and instruction to children in schools and after-school programs in Southern Dallas. The program will launch on December 1 with an instrument “playground” at Southwest Center Mall introducing children to the instruments of the orchestra, with four similar December events to follow, and a sign-up event in January 2019 at South Dallas Cultural Center. The DSO is conducting instrument drives that will provide hundreds of instruments to students by June 2019. The DSO will offer free music programs and lessons multiple times per week as part of school and existing after-school programs, with educational partners helping the DSO develop curriculum and training teaching artists. DSO musicians will perform weekend and evening concerts in the community and will collaborate with artists in the community. The program is expected to expand in 2020 to provide weekly or twice weekly early music education for children from 3 to 5 years old. The program adds to the orchestra’s ongoing music education programs, which include Symphony Yes! interactive music performances by DSO musicians in schools, and Young Strings, whose participants are students in grades 2 to 12 from disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Posted November 19, 2018
