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While reflecting on her time as a voice teacher at Arthouse Collective, Leeya Abraham recalled one 10-year-old girl who showed up to every class — her “most committed student,” she said.

Every day at 4 p.m., about halfway through voice class, the young girl would run home to greet her mom as she got home from work, before she would leave again for her second job. But after her mother’s departure, the student always ran back to her lesson.

“No matter what, she was there. When I came in … she would run up to me and be like, ‘Is it time for music class?’” Abraham, a double major in music and anthropology at Syracuse University, said. “That was just so incredible to see — this young kid that was like, all I need from you is to tell me when it’s 4 p.m. and I will make this happen.”

Arthouse Collective is one of many nonprofit music organizations, including The Syracuse Orchestra, 727 Instrumental and the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association, that provide supplemental music classes, instruments and funding to help kids facing financial difficulties receive an education in music across the city of Syracuse.

Arthouse Collective promotes art and music education for children in the Syracuse area and supports up-and-coming artists through opportunities to display their music and art.

Abraham said many kids she taught through Arthouse Collective had limited arts and musical education programs within their schools. Most students’ families didn’t have the resources to participate in paid music lessons or buy their own instruments, she said.

Music and arts programs are often the first departments to receive funding cuts, whether in elementary schools or colleges. According to a report from the Center for an Urban Future, The New York State Council on the Arts’ budget declined almost 40% between 2008 and 2023.

Though she’s no longer a voice teacher, Abraham has been working as an intern at Arthouse Collective since last fall. She’s now the coordinator for its “Let’s Play” program, which organizes free music programming for voice, guitar, piano and general music lessons across Syracuse.

“We are trying to work in areas that tend to have less access to music,” Abraham said. “Most of these kids, whether they’re nine or 14, still have never played a piano before, sung in a choir or anything like that.”

Several other musical programs exist within Syracuse to provide supplemental musical resources to the community. As one of the largest of these organizations, The Syracuse Orchestra has multiple initiatives to make music education more accessible, like guest performances at schools and libraries.

Lara Mosby, the orchestra’s director of community engagement, said it organizes guest visits from elementary through high schools, with either the whole orchestra or smaller ensembles. During these visits, musicians, conductors and guest artists speak with school music classes.

Courtesy of Syracuse Orchestra

Arts and music programs across schools are often the first to receive funding cuts. Between 2008 and 2023, The New York State Council on the Arts’ budget declined by almost 40%.

She also said the orchestra’s goal is to get students excited about music. When they’re excited, Mosby said, they’re more likely to engage with and participate in music both inside and outside of school.

“A lot of the kids that we meet… are not going to be professional musicians,” Mosby said. “But they use the program to help them along. They learn persistence and grit and what it means to try to do something over and over again till you’re good at it… those are qualities that apply in the rest of your life.”

Like the orchestra, 727 Instrumental emphasizes the importance of music in the city by giving instruments to young musicians. The organization was founded in 2020 by married couple Mark and Mikell Digiorgio.

Mark said he was inspired to create the nonprofit through his life-long love of music. As an aspiring saxophone player, Mark was devastated when his elementary school told him he could no longer borrow its saxophone, as his father couldn’t afford to buy him one.

With the help of Mark’s teacher, the school board eventually agreed to continue lending Mark a saxophone; but, Mark knew not all students are given his opportunity, which birthed the idea for the 727 instrumental, he said.

“We would love to see children be able to spend their free time doing something positive and building something, “ Mikell said. “So many kids are going through so much, and that music might be that one thing that helps them get out of a depressed state or feeling really just kind of lost and alone.”

Mikell said that, while the organization is still in the process of applying and receiving grants to fund their work, 727 Instrumental intends to provide all sorts of instruments, from percussion to electric guitars. It’s already begun working with the Syracuse City School District to discuss how they can collaborate.

While the Syracuse Orchestra doesn’t provide instruments to the members of its youth orchestra and its “Kids Concert Series,” it does encourage schools to set up field trips to its concerts. Mosby said kids under 18 come for free, and if a family or school can’t afford to come, outside organizations can usually provide supplemental tickets.

Mosby said the orchestra also recently started a program called “Live at the Library,” which offers free performances at local libraries that are open to all ages.

Among other donors, the Syracuse Orchestra is largely sponsored by the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association — a nonprofit organization founded in 1960 to help financially support central New York groups that offer music programming, education or community support. Through fundraising, the association now gives grants to over 20 music organizations.

A bulk of SSMA’s grant funding comes from the proceeds of its volunteer-run Encore Thrift Shop. Sandy Rosenfeld, the store’s co-manager, said close to half of the store’s profits go to the Syracuse Orchestra, enabling its community engagement projects.

“It serves the whole community in that the clothing is not going into landfills. A lot of people in need are able to buy amazing clothing at really reduced prices,” Rosenfeld said. “The benefit is just amazing all the way around.”

Rosenfeld said the store serves a twofold purpose, as people can buy affordable and repurposed clothes, especially jackets and other warm gear in preparation for winter. The profits are then directed towards musical education in the community.

Abraham agreed that music often serves to bring community members together and invest in each other. She said it’s especially important in Syracuse, where many other organizations exist to combat social issues like food insecurity, gang violence and health-care access.

“It’s important that places exist like Arthouse that are examining art, and music, and creativity and expression as fundamental to help people with the way that they see their own neighborhood, the way they engage with their community,” Abraham said.

Published on December 10, 2024 at 10:15 pm

Contact Kate: kjacks19@syr.edu