As the students take the stage and assume their positions in the band or orchestra, and parents squint to find their favorite musician, the scene in the new Donald Kusel Auditorium at Sleepy Hollow High School looks much like that at any other high school – if the other high school is virtually all white. The much-celebrated diversity of our community and our schools does not extend to the instrumental musical groups that represent them.

One group of committed volunteers is determined to change that.
The Tarrytown schools provide all young children with exposure to music and the opportunity to learn to play an instrument of their choice. Many students demonstrate a natural love and affinity for music at a very early age. But relatively few continue the formal study of music into their high school years. Students give up their instruments for a variety of reasons, including lack of natural ability or developing interest in another area, such as sports or drama. But for many students, predominantly black and Hispanic, financial and pragmatic obstacles stand in the way of developing their musical potential.

“That just isn’t acceptable,” said Judith Kass, founder and leader of MusicWorks, an ad hoc group dedicated to insuring that talented young musicians get the chance to develop their potential.

The mission statement of MusicWorks is to “use the serious study of music as a vehicle to create opportunities for students to aspire to and pursue a greater number of paths that can lead to their future success.” It does this by providing talented youth in financial need with private music lessons, workshops and opportunities to interact with professional musicians in a variety of venues, an approach based on the national MusicLinks Foundation program.

Launched in the fall of 2009 at Washington Irving School with a one year $12,000 grant from the Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, MusicWorks aims to increase the diversity of students who continue their study of music into and beyond their middle and high school years.

“Unlike other art forms, mastery of an instrument is achieved through a one on one relationship with a teacher/mentor,” Kass said. “We recognized the need to identify talented students and match them up with teachers.”

Making use of such local resources as the graduate jazz program at SUNY Purchase, and working closely with district music faculty, Kass hired private teachers for a handful of 5th and 6th graders, all of whom meet the program’s mission criteria. To qualify, prospective participants have to do their part as well. They have to have demonstrated a willingness to practice their instrument regularly and shown a degree of natural talent. For their part, parents sign an agreement pledging to provide a suitable place and time for musical practice, and support the child’s musical education at home and at school. Advisory board member Maribel Oliva has been assisting with ongoing communications with parents.

Students are proud to be in the program. As one remarked when asked by Todd Coolman, director of the jazz program at Purchase, about his school music program, “We have MusicWorks!” Another expressed confidence that she thinks she will “have a good shot at a top seat in the middle school band because of the private classes.”

The kids get private lessons and group “musicianship” classes after school and more. For example, last spring the group got to watch and listen to a performance by the Westchester Jazz Orchestra and meet the musicians after the show. They also attended a rehearsal by the SUNY Purchase Jazz Band, got to play alongside the Purchase musicians and meet with Coolman, who talked to them about what happens in a music conservatory, and encouraged them to continue their musical studies.

Of course, funding for the program is a challenge, especially in the current economic climate. Alison Paul, another advisory board member, secured a grant from the Rotary Club and has written grants to other funders as well.

“Given the shrinking grant pool, we will be looking to our community to see if we can generate local support as we move forward,” Paul said.

As the group enters its second year, finding the funds to continue and eventually expanding the program to include string instruments will have to be key priorities for MusicWorks. If they succeed, many talented young people who might not otherwise get the chance will take their place on stage at Sleepy Hollow High School – and maybe even bigger stages in the years ahead.