Arts & Entertainment: Rock To The Future Providing More Than Music Education to Philly Youth
When Rock to the Future was started seven years ago, it had one clear goal in mind. The Kensington-based non-profit wanted to provide Philly youth an opportunity to learn instruments with after-school programs and summer camps, but the work has gone further than teaching children ins and outs of rock ‘n’ roll. “We saw the need in […]
Hunting Park: Latin Music Lessons Transcend The Classroom
Salsa rhythms pulsate beyond the basement of Esperanza College and flow into the streets of Hunting Park. The Caribbean-based beats resonate from Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA), a non-profit arts and artist’s organization established in North Philadelphia. Accentuating Latin composition, the music school, which was founded in 2006 by Grammy-nominated music producer Jesse Bermudez, recently […]
Education: CAPA’s Dorina Morrow Hits a High Note with Students
Despite taking her turn as a backup singer for artists such as Celine Dion and Michael Bolton, Dorina Morrow demurs when asked to sing in the middle of her office. Morrow, the vocal director at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in South Philadelphia, is more excited to hear her students perform. […]
Cedar Park: Music Program Proves Instrumental to Young Students
The major budget cuts the School District of Philadelphia had to endure had a direct impact on music and art programs throughout the schools. Established in 2011 at St. Francis De Sales School, Play On, Philly! has been able to provide students with another way to learn musical instruments in a school setting. Play On, […]
Education: New Study Finds Music Lessons Improve Academic Performance
Play on Philly, a nonprofit after-school organization, teaches orchestra and band music to students from underserved communities. The group released preliminary results of an independent study in September that indicated its program helps reduce student absences and improve classroom performance in English, math and on standardized tests. [vimeo 108741792] -Text, video and images by Lindsey Murray and Lara Witt
Allegheny: Five People You Should Know
Allegheny West is on the rise. Community leaders are fighting poverty and hunger, but they’re also being proactive – job training and placement is offered through more than one organization. Although the end goal is the same, these influential people are taking several approaches. Whether they deliver the message through prayer, music or media, the […]
West Philly: Stanford Thompson, The Man Behind ‘Play On, Philly!’
Stanford Thompson is a tender 26 years-old but has already established a program that is trying to change music education in the city of Philadelphia. With Play on, Philly!, Thompson is combining his education and music skills to create a dynamic performing arts program for local elementary and middle school students. “The vision for Play […]
Germantown: Spotlight on Settlement Music School
This year marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Settlement Music School‘s (SMS) Germantown branch. The Settlement community as a whole has been operating for more than 100 years. The school serves as an educational institution dedicated to bettering musicians of all ages, talent levels and instrument interests. Students can begin classes after completing […]
Germantown: The Music of Maplewood Studios
Maplewood Music Studio, located on 47 West Maplewood Mall, is set up much like an apartment. If you open the first door to your left, you walk down and narrow hallway, which eventually opens up into a living room. The room is filled with only the necessities – a baby grand piano sits in the […]
Kensington: Rock to the Future Brings Free Music Education to the Community
Rock to the Future, an after-school program, offers Kensington and neighboring residents free music lessons, homework help and a social environment for students who would otherwise never see the benefits of music education. Jessica McKay, founding director of Rock to the Future, started the program with concrete goals in mind. A Temple University graduate with […]