Crowdfunder: Striking the right chord with disadvantaged youth

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Campaign:  MYCincinnati – Strength & Community Through Music
 

MYCincinnati (Music for Youth in Cincinnati) is a free, daily youth orchestra program for children in Price Hill. 80 students attend the program every weekday for two hours, learning violin, viola, cello, double bass, and playing in an orchestra. MYCincinnati’s mission is to use music as a vehicle for youth development and social change.

Through the intense study of music within a supportive community, the young musicians learn to practice empathy, creativity, resilience, reflection, and collaboration – skills that will empower them to be the responsible leaders of the future. MYCincinnati is inspired by El Sistema, the revolutionary Venezuelan youth orchestra program that has inspired similar programs around the world.

MYCincinnati is a program of Price Hill Will, a non-profit 501(c)3 community development organization serving East, West, and Lower Price Hill. All contributions to MYCincinnati are tax-deductible, including those made to this campaign.

When MYCincinnati started in 2011, they didn't have much. 11 children, 2 teachers, borrowed instruments, a borrowed space, and little money. They've come a long way in the last four and a half years:

• They increased enrollment from 11 to 80, added the Pre-Orchestra Program (K-2nd), and added elective classes in piano, guitar, flute, bucket drums, step dance, and art.

• They moved into an amazing space: the historic firehouse on Warsaw Avenue.
• Last summer, MYCincinnati's Orchestras performed side-by-side with the Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra, conducted by John Morris Russell of the Cincinnati Pops.
• Last spring, MYCincinnati's Ambassador Ensemble completed their yearlong social justice project, performing all around the city to huge audiences. This fall, the ensemble performed a sold-out concert with Swedish Grammy-nominated songwriter Jens Lekman.
• Many of the students are studying privately with members of the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and three have successfully auditioned for Cincinnati's School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA).