GOING FORWARD AND GROWING

Now in its fifth year ProMusica’s program, Play It Forward  provides high-quality, twice-weekly musical instruction; string instruments, now including viola and cell, in addition to violin; and enrichment activities to over 100 Columbus area middle-schoolers each year, at no cost to students or their families. The program serves a demographic and geographic area in which 95% of students are considered economically underserved. The program  also offers field trips and enrichment activities, including a special season-finale concert at the historic Southern Theatre in downtown Columbus. Prior to Play It Forward the participating schools offered no violin or instrumental programming to their middle-school students. With the help of these partnering schools, ProMusica is building the next generation of musicians and music audiences. The students also do  “pop-up” concerts at local retirement communities (e.g., the Mill Run Garden and Care Center, Martin Janis Community Senior Center, Ohio Living/Westminster-Thurber), library branches (e.g., Whetstone and Franklinton), and the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center. These “extra” performances reached more than 650 community audience members, giving PUF students the opportunity to showcase what they’d learned; gain experience with real-world public performances.