The San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory was recently recognized for its ongoing success in restoring music education to schools in San Diego County. At the Arts Education Partnership National Forum in Pittsburgh in September, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Jane Chu highlighted the orchestra’s Community Opus Project for providing free in-school and afterschool music classes to 3,000 students in eighteen schools. “School district leaders have made a commitment to reinstate music instruction at all of their 44 schools over the next ten years,” Chu said. SDYS President and CEO Dalouge Smith spoke at the Pittsburgh forum on a panel titled “Restoring Arts Education Capacity to California’s Largest K-6 School District: El Sistema and the Community Opus Project” with Russell Sperling, visual and performing arts coordinator for San Diego County Office of Education; John Nelson, assistant superintendent for the Chula Vista Elementary School District; and moderator Heather Noonan, vice president for advocacy at the League of American Orchestras. The Community Opus Project was launched in 2010 as an afterschool program in two San Diego schools, and by 2013 the Chula Vista Elementary School District had committed to returning music education to all its schools. More information about the Community Opus Project is available here.
Posted October 3, 2014
