Joseph Conyers, assistant principal bass at the Philadelphia Orchestra, is co-founder of Project 440. Photo by Kriston Jae Bethel
“Project 440 takes its name from an audio frequency of 440 hertz, which is equivalent to pitch ‘A,’ the note orchestral musicians use to tune their instruments pre-performance,” writes Natalie Pompilio in Thursday’s (6/2) Philadelphia Citizen. “Project 440 … doesn’t offer music lessons or seek funds for sheet music or instruments…. The organization’s largest program, Doing Good, teaches the basics of entrepreneurship, how to run a business, and life skills, by encouraging young musicians to merge their love of music with ways they want to improve their communities.… Says co-founder [and Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Bass] Joseph Conyers, ‘The point of Project 440 is to figure out how can we make better citizens, better young people, by opening up the possibilities of their life through a passion that they have. In this case, that’s music.’ The program’s participants come from Philadelphia public and charter high schools…. In 2022 … the organization launched … Doing Good II, which offers lessons in quantifying results, applying for grants, raising money and other relevant issues…. After completing … Doing Good, [students Claire Casanova and Chloe Cooper] founded Generation Music in 2018 with the goal of exposing underserved youth to classical music.”
