CSO music-outreach

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is beginning a series of new programs to integrate its existing music education sponsorship with outreach programs. There immediate objective is to make the general public more aware of the full extent of the orchestra’s education and outreach services to the greater Chicago area. Eighteen such programs are now in operation at the CSO, serving infants to adults.The long-term mission is to increase opportunities for area young people to participate in a broad range of musical learning and training activities. Another part involves creating new connections between the orchestra and public and community music schools while strengthening existing relationships. The programs will have their own budget of between $3 million and $3.5 million. According to CSO Association President Deborah F. Rutter, “I want the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to be viewed even more in our community as a resource for music in all kinds of forms,” she says. “We have the capacity to do things that put us in a great position to make a difference in people’s lives. This is an opportunity for us to use the platform of the CSO, and all it represents, as a beacon to shine on the great resources that exist musically and educationally in the Chicago area, and to work more closely on them."

Specifically the new programs are:

•Orchestra Explorers. A learning program for ages 5-8 that will provide materials at no cost to every Chicago public school kindergarten through 3rd-grade classrooms, totaling about 3,500 classrooms and an estimated 75,000 participants annually. A pilot phase will begin next month; the full program is scheduled to be launched in fall 2009.

•Dream Out Loud. The music advocacy campaign offers a variety of resources created especially for elementary through high school music students ages 9-17. The campaign is expected to have some 30,000 participants.

•Chicago Young Musician Initiative. The program is geared toward giving students ages 10-25 greater access to musical training. An April residency by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela will kick off a series of biannual music festivals at Symphony Center and across the area. About 50,000 are expected to participate.

I think that these new programs have huge potential to impact the chicago community. I'm an advocate of any program that works to get music and the arts more face-time in schools and in children's lives. Music has been an amazing creative outlet for me. With music you can develop a hobby and a life skill set. If you study music and find a niche when your young, you will always have that creative outlet to turn to. My parents never fully endorsed my own music lessons, and in school our facilities always seem to be lackluster at best. Because these programs haven't been completely enacted yet I'm not really in a position to critique them. However, from the perspective of someone who has seen the limits of an underfunded arts program, and had parents who were less than willing to back their child's musical aspirations, I can say that I am very excited for the children and all those who stand to benefit from these new initiatives.--yay for music!--yay for them!