Damien Crutcher, managing director of Detroit Harmony, helps distribute musical instruments at Detroit Prep. Photo by Sarah Smarch.
In Monday’s (7/10) Second Wave Media, (Michigan), Brooke Marshall writes, ”Spearheaded by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Harmony is a collaborative of more than 40 local arts nonprofits, schools, and community organizations to create and strengthen music opportunities for every child in the city. Managing Director Damien Crutcher—who also founded the nonprofit arts afterschool program Crescendo Detroit—talks about … Harmony … and the importance of music education…. Crutcher: I’m the product of music education. I grew up in Detroit. Back then every school in Detroit had a general music teacher, a band director, orchestra teacher, and a choir teacher. So I was exposed to music early on… I discovered the French horn … and my life changed forever … Scholarships rolled in for me to study with a Detroit Symphony Orchestra member, Bryan Kennedy…. Because of music education, I was able to go to Interlochen, study music education at Michigan State University, and I did a masters in conducting at Michigan. For me it has been a career path, a way of life…. We just want kids to [enjoy] … the sheer joy of music making … If they choose it as a career, great. If not, it makes us better people.”
