DCYOP is known as one of the few comprehensive orchestral music education programs in the country where a four-and-a-half year old can start the program with no musical experience, be introduced to an instrument for the very first time, and come out of the program thirteen-and-a-half years later as an advanced musician with experience performing major orchestral works in professional venues like the Kennedy Center and touring around the world. But did you know that DCYOP directly offers instrumental training to students in the DC public schools (DCPS) system through Prelude, its after-school program?
Originally founded at the request of DCPS in 1960, DCYOP has always been connected to our city’s public schools, whether through direct in-school programming or the location of its Saturday rehearsals and classes. Today, Prelude serves as another unique avenue for DCYOP to provide students in DC with more equitable pathways to instrumental music education, providing tuition-free instruction at five Title I DC public and public charter schools: Takoma, John Lewis, Langdon, and Langley Elementary, and Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School (East End campus).
“For many years, DCYOP has extended its commitment to providing access to music education into the public schools,” says DCYOP Artistic Director, Evan Ross Solomon. “Students at these Prelude program sites have the opportunity to learn an instrument, make friends, and realize the potential of music education. We are proud to partner with DCPS schools to support these young people in their musical journey.”
Through the Prelude program, approximately 90 students across five schools currently receive up to 6.5 hours of weekly instruction on ensemble instruments including violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. No prior musical experience is required, and students receive loaner instruments at no charge. Prelude students perform in public concerts twice a year in addition to occasional smaller in-school performances, and have the opportunity to join DCYOP’s regular Saturday program when they demonstrate that they are ready to move up to an ensemble experience. The program is heavily inspired by El Sistema, Venezuela’s renowned youth orchestra program that uses music education as a means of youth development and social transformation.
The benefits are clear to John Lewis Elementary School music teacher and DCYOP faculty member, Joanna Ramirez. “Through their participation in our after-school program, my students have been able to foster a community with each other that is very diverse. In orchestra, we have students from second grade all the way through fifth grade, students who are from different backgrounds, and students with very different interests. Throughout the school day, my students only interact with their specific grade band but in orchestra they have the opportunity to interact with people that they wouldn’t otherwise. Most noticeably, my students have developed very promising leadership skills. They are very quick to hold each other accountable, whether they be in the same section or not! They will even correct one another if someone is sitting incorrectly or putting their instrument together incorrectly. They also demonstrate their desire to contribute to our community. They will practically fight with one another for the opportunity to organize the music books, organize the music room, and to organize the instrument room! As they become more passionate about being in the program, they also become more dedicated to the success of the ensemble.”
Our Prelude students are off to a great start this school year, and we look forward to enjoying their first performances very soon! Interested in seeing if your DC public or charter school might be eligible to start its own Prelude program, or wondering how your child can enroll in your school’s existing program next year? Contact your school music teacher or reach out to DCYOP Program Manager, Tim Provost, at [email protected] for more information.
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