Corona Youth Music Project Inc

The Corona Youth Music Project (CYMP), or Nucleo Corona, gives tuition-free instruction, orchestral instruments on loan (such as violins, cellos, clarinets, oboes, trompets and trombones) to around 140 children ages 7 to 15, and offers music instruction to around 60 children ages 4 to 6 in preparation to joining one of the three graded CYMP orchestras.

Corona has one of the most over-crowded areas in the the NYC school system, and is among the 5 most crowded school disctricts in the country.  On top of this, contant cuts in the budget for music education in the schools is leaving a big number of children in this area without an opportunity to experience the beauty and rigor of practicing an instrument and playing in a large ensemble.

El Sistema, which started in Venezuela in the mid-1970s, is a movement of social action through music:  Participation in music ensembles of young people –especially those living under the line of poverty and in communities in need– is a vehicule to bring about positive social change.  With their participation, not only they are developing social skills, enforcing executive functions, thus supporting their school readiness, but also their participation in the orchestra creates a strong sense of community, civic parcticipation and pride.  With these elements, the orchestra becomes an important asset for a whole comunity since it strngthens the individuals, their families and the community as a whole.

Since 2011, when CYMP started its first children's orchestra with only 36 students, over 500 children have participated in at least one season during the school year, or thorugh summer programs.  In 2014, CYMP started its third Children's Orchestra, which will be led by its the project's most senior students, ages 11-15.  With this, CYMP is createing a new leadership program that will reinforce the sustainability and growth of the program in the coming years.

Most of the funding for the Corona Youth Music Project goes to hire teachers in different especiallities: orchestral instruments, choir, and early childhood musicianship.  With the help of several community partners, including the HANAC-Corona Beacon Program, Immigrant Movement International, P.S. 19Q, the LeFrak City branch of the Queens Library and of the Queens Museum, CYMP has managed to keep relatively low overhead and administrative expenses.

Your support will go directly to provide more hours of instruction to more children in Corona who otherwise would have no access to the arts.