A
group of local music and government institutions are collaborating to
create RocMusic, a program that will provide tuition-free music
instruction to city school students. The pilot program will offer 20
students ages 5 to 8 general music appreciation, and 20 9- to
18-year-olds instruction in string instruments.
The
program, which starts in the fall, will be held three days a week at
the David F. Gantt Community Center on North Street. Organizers would
like to expand RocMusic to more of the city’s community centers,
eventually serving 75 students at each site.
The
Hochstein School of Music and Dance, University of Rochester’s
Eastman School of Music, City of Rochester, Rochester school
district, and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra created the program
with a $100,000 start-up grant from the Max and Marian Farash
Charitable Foundation. The grant will be used to hire music
instructors and materials.
RocMusic
is based on the work of Gustavo Dudamel, an internationally known
conductor who was a student in Venezuela’s “El Sistema,” a
program that provides free, community-based music instruction to that
country’s disadvantaged youth. Similar programs have been developed
in the United States and are credited with helping to instill
students with confidence and discipline by building on their interest
in music.
Students
who apply to RocMusic will be required to commit to excellent
attendance at school and the program. More details on the application
process will be forthcoming.
The
city has also received $100,000 from Windstream Corporation to fund a
music-production studio at the Gantt site.
This article appears in Jul 25-31, 2012.
