The Oregon Symphony has received a $70,000, three-year grant to support a new education partnership with the David Douglas School District. Funded by the Oregon Community Foundation’s Studio to School Initiative, the grant will go toward instrumental music instruction for 673 students in grades K-4 at Gilbert Heights Elementary School. It will also support professional support for teachers to mentor and coach middle-school orchestra students at Alice Ott Middle School. Elementary school staff, parents, and education staff from the Oregon Symphony will meet in September to create a leadership team to assess and address student and staff needs. One of the program’s goals is the performance of a full-orchestra concert by members of the David Douglas High School orchestra and band, playing side-by-side with the Oregon Symphony. In a press release, the Oregon Symphony states that the David Douglas School District was chosen for the project because of a pre-existing relationship between the Alice Ott Middle School land the chamber group 45th Parallel, led by Oregon Symphony violinist Greg Ewer and comprising other musicians from the orchestra.
Posted July 28, 2014
