Bringing Music to Local Schools
MYS believes every student deserves access to music education, regardless of socio-economic circumstance. We do more than enroll MYS students in one of our 15 ensembles: we provide access to music to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity. We proudly perform 15 outreach concerts at low-income and under-served schools in the Portland metropolitan area and southwest Washington each year. As part of each performance, MYS musicians and conductors interact with the school’s students, sharing information about their instruments and the fundamentals of the music performed. Finally, we share the opportunity to become part of MYS, specifically through MYS’s financial aid program and our tuition-free Beginning Strings program.
Outreach At a Glance:
- Each year we reach over 5,000 students
- 70% of the students in schools visited qualified for Free or Reduced Lunch
- This program is supported in part by donations, including our corporate and foundation partners.
We should be thanking you! Our kids loved seeing your students perform. We were talking today and almost NONE of our students had ever seen a concert, aside from on TV, with stringed instruments. Most had never heard of the instruments you brought with you. We are nearly 85% poverty and nearly the same for students learning a second language so this was really the one opportunity they might have in ALL of elementary school to experience the type of music your students shared with them. While our middle and high schools offer a rigorous band program, it is something that our elementary students are not exposed to until 6th grade. It really was an eye opening treat for our kiddos. Thank you so much for sharing.
-Kim, Elementary School Principal
Why Music Matters
Research proves that music changes the way young people think. When young people participate in the arts, they are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and they have better attendance, lower dropout rates, higher confidence, and stronger writing skills.
Music matters, here’s why:
- Music Lessons Enhance Brain Function in Disadvantaged Kids
- A Musical Fix for American Schools
- Read the Arts Education Navigator by Americans for the Arts
What I like about MYS is that it gives me a chance to play in a band, because I don’t have a school band. – Kaitlin, MYS student