Media Contact: Alexander Peña, 585-490-1559, rocmusickids@gmail.com
More Rochester students will have access to free after-school classical music instruction as the ROCmusic program expands to a second location in October.
The collaborative outreach program, now in its fourth year, provides classical ensemble instruction and private instrumental lessons to economically disadvantaged communities and at-risk youth. Students ages 6 through 18 take after-school classes three days per week in singing, reading and writing music, drumming, and stringed-instrument study. Approximately 60 students are currently in the program and the organization presents more than 10 concert events for the community per year.
Currently offered at the Gantt R-Center located at 700 North St., ROCmusic will launch at the Edgerton R-Center, 41 Backus St., on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
“Our Edgerton expansion project advances our organization’s long-term goal to provide access to quality music and arts participation in every quadrant of our city – first in the Northeast, and now in the Northwest crescent neighborhoods bordering downtown,” said Alexander Peña, director of ROCmusic. “Children can experience the joy of learning music, while learning about responsibility, opportunity, and the community surrounding them, ultimately contributing to future academic success. Music has transformative powers and ROCmusic can positively affect social change in our students and their neighborhoods.”
ROCmusic is a partnership of the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, the Eastman Community Music School, the Rochester City School District, the City of Rochester, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
The program is divided into three different teaching levels based on experience and age and includes students in 1st through 12th grade. It is open to children in the City of Rochester. Priority is given to students who attend the Rochester City School District. There is no application fee, and all participants receive a full scholarship for study, materials, and events.
More information on the program is available at www.ROCmusic.org , by calling (585) 490-1559, or on Facebook.
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