We currently serve 50 families who lack the means to afford everything they want for their children. We have identified hundreds more families who are hungry for all that music education has to offer. Our work with these families is to provide hope, a chance, and skills for transformation – to have children achieve whatever dreams they have for themselves, while at the same time learning to work together across many social divides to leave a world more unified.

We can’t feed all of the hungry children and adults in India today, but tomorrow, all of the children we serve will grow up to be adults – adults who, by experiencing what musiConnects has to offer, will go to college and/or have successful careers, and become active civilians engaged in social justice. They are a generation who will serve in the Peace Corp and Americorp, give generously to hunger relief organizations, and run a youth center in their neighborhood. They will go beyond what we can do today, but only if we provide them with the nurturing training they need.

musiConnects musicians are armed to create change with the tools of community building, social justice and music. How many new ambassadors can we create this year? next?

~Betsy

http://greenroom.fromthetop.org/2011/10/04/center-for-the-development-of-arts-leaders-working-at-musiconnects/

to find out more about the Sphinx Organization, click here

Greetings MusiConnects Students,

I’m currently sitting poolside at our hotel  in Macon, GA.  However, I assure you that Ms. Adrienne and I have been working very hard – rehearsing up to six hours a day in preparation for our 14-city tour!  Our chamber orchestra has 18 people in it: 9 violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, and 2 basses.  We also have no conductor, so we have to REALLY listen to each other, breathe together, and do everything that we talk about in our chamber groups at Chittick.

Should you ever find yourself here in Macon, be sure to stop by Jeanne’s on Mulberry St. for some delicious soul food!  I also had the chance to stop by the local NBC station and watch my friend from high school, Michael Estimé, do his job as the Chief Meteorologist (Weather Man) on live TV.

I’m so excited to have played our first two concerts already for elementary school students because they were great listeners and really enjoyed the music.

As much fun as I’m having, I can’t wait to get back to Chittick to hear all about your summers and play more music with all of you.

Practice, practice!

Mr. Jason

Click here to read their blog.

Above: Jessica performs French Folk Song for the camera and Chamber Kids rehearse one of their pieces, composed by Betsy Hinkle.

Chittick second grade violinist Amarah Paris made this list of words while listening to the Boston Public Quartet rehearse the fugue movement of Mozart String Quartet K. 387. She chose words to describe what she heard instead of drawing.

Chamber Kids began this February at the Bethany United Methodist Church, who generously donate the space to MusiConnects! Here is a group with kids from West Roxbury, Quincy, Brookline, and Roslindale. They are rehearsing Gimme a Cue, an original composition by founder Betsy Hinkle. Also in the shot are our biggest fans – a trio of kids who live near the church and have been coming to watch us week after week! They attend the Orchard Gardens School and say they want to play the flute, drums and guitar – which hopefully they will get to do next year through Berklee’s City Music program.