Call Us At: 340-344-6449
Gee, it's fun learning to play!
The U.S. Virgin Islands' Premier Music School!
You're INVITED to see the the performance of our first string orchestra on St. Croix on Sunday, July 23 at 3:30pm at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center Amphitheater. Free Admission
Nine St. Croix young students made a commitment to learn how to play the violin during a free seven-week summer music workshop organized by Partners for Strings, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non profit organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The launching of the St. Croix Summer Music Workshop became the first step in expanding the Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra on the Big Island. The program is culminating its achievement with a String Performance on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at 3:30pm at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center Amphitheater. The public is invited and admission is FREE.
James H. Gumbs, Jr. has been running the summer program on St. Croix at G-Clef Music Academy in the Sunny Isle Shopping Center. James said that the participating students, who range in age from 6 to 15, were very eager and excited to learn music. Our mission is to reach the at-risk and underserved youth in our community. In the fall, the violin and several other instruments will be added to create a full youth orchestra after-school program on St. Croix for ages 6 to 17.
This project is jointly supported by a grant from the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC, a federal agency. The St. Croix Summer Workshop is also being supported by G-Clef Music Academy and the VI Housing Authority.
HELP US TRANSFORM LIVES THROUGH MUSIC
Interested in supporting the transformation of children through music?
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra
FREE orchestra Member Group Lessons/Rehearsals/Sectionals for Partners for Strings, Inc. will take place at G-Clef Music Academy. Partners for Strings VIYO will conduct weekly group lessons, rehearsals, and sectionals Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 6:30pm throughout the school year and the summer on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Initially, the Partners for Strings VIYO will begin recruiting students from schools on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Youth from St. John will also be encouraged to participate.
The main objective is to target students who are at risk and underserved/under-resourced. Partners for Strings is projecting 30 students per location, for the total of 60 to participate in the orchestra in the first year. The orchestra will increase to 90 students the second year and grow to 120 students for the third year.
Experienced Teachers and an a conductor will lead youth, ages 6 to 17, in the further development of an excellent youth orchestra on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Instruction will be a hybrid of in person and online Teaching Artists with the support of Miami Music Project--instructors on St. Croix and on St. Thomas. These teachers will be leading lessons/rehearsals/sections in the following instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Steel Pan. Partners for Strings will creatively incorporate Caribbean cultural music in its repertoire. Your support will defray the costs of instructors, facility use, student transportation, the purchase of instruments, program and administrative staff, and music supplies and technology.
Partners for Strings will also institute the passionate and transformative strategies that have made the Miami Music Project a major catalyst for positive changes in the member's families and in the local community. PFS appreciates the opportunity to make a greater impact in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
CALL (340) 228-1126 for more information
St. Thomas
St. John
St. Croix
U.S. Virgin Islands Youth
Ages 6 to 17
Meet Partners for Strings' Alliance Partner--Miami Music Project
Miami Music Project is currently in the process of partnering with Partners for Strings, Inc. This affiliation will provide valuable input towards establishing a viable and powerful structure for Partners for Strings. Please see the attached letter of support from the President of Miami Music Project.
Miami Music Project is a Florida-based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is “Composing Better Lives”. Miami Music Project uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to acquire values and achieve their full potential; positively affecting their society through the study and performance of music. Miami Music Project’s vision is to create opportunity and access through music for those most in need, improve the quality of life for children today and ultimately transform their lives, the lives of their families, and their communities.
Emerging as a model for music education programs nationally, Miami Music Project offers free of charge, after-school programming to all students with no barriers to entry, regardless of race or economic status. As of today, Miami Music Project has reached over 30,000 children and youth across Miami-Dade County, becoming one of the largest socially transformative music initiatives in the United States. Miami Music Project's programming is inspired by the El Sistema phenomenon - a model for social change and a visionary global movement that transforms the lives of children through music.
Interested in supporting the transformation of children through music?
CALL Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra at (340) 344-6449
for more information
Partners for Strings President, Gloria Gumbs and Miami Music Project President Anna Klimala want you to PARTNER with us to CHANGE the LIVES of Virgin Islands FAMILIES.
El Sistema, a program that began over forty years ago with eleven struggling music students in an abandoned parking lot in Caracas, has grown to include 750,000 children in Venezuela and has sparked one of the world’s most remarkable social initiatives. The program has sprung up in over 60 countries across the world, inspired by the vision of its founder, José Antonio Abreu. “When you put a violin in the hands of a child,” Abreu has said, “that child will not pick up a gun.”
Miami Music Project seeks to transform youth in the following areas:
1) Develop values of community through sharing and teamwork
2) Develop creativity and discipline perseverance and self-esteem
3) Inspire children to reach excellence through their own efforts
4) Improve the school performance of children
5) Strengthen the unity of families.
Above all, Miami Music Project is a community development organization. Its aim is to positively impact the lives of children living in under-represented communities, facing poverty, violence, discrimination, and other adverse factors that they have no control over, yet are subjected to day after day.
The organization specifically chose music as a vehicle for social change. Music helps children unlock the intellectual potential for academic achievement and gain the self-confidence needed to succeed, ultimately overcoming the disadvantages of poverty and inequality. Music education accelerates brain development, increases academic success, and fosters significant lifelong benefits for those who have access.
All programming is provided free of charge to students, thus eliminating the financial barrier that inhibits so many families from pursuing the arts. Curriculum is designed specifically for at-risk youth, incorporating elements of Social Emotional Learning and Positive Youth Development, with independent research studies supporting that our approach helps develop academic, cognitive, and social skills needed for success in life.
*Child's Name:
*Which instrument do you think your child is interested in playing for the orchestra?
MORE PARTNERS STRENGTHENS THE COMMUNITY
ORCHESTRA CONTACT FORM
*Child's Age:
CHILD (STUDENT) INFORMATION
*Child's Grade Level:
*Child's Current School:
*Child's Gender:
*Is your child attending school online or in person?
PARENT/GUARDIAN INFORMATION
*Parent's/Guardian's Name:
*Parent's/Guardian's Mobile Phone:
*Parent's/Guardian's Email Address:
*How did you hear about this youth orchestra program?
Please give us any questions or comments you may have at this time about the Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra.
Please click SUBMIT. THANK YOU for completing our Orchestra Contact Form. This allows us to get a better idea of those who are interested in participating with the orchestra.
If you have any QUESTIONS, please email to [email protected] or call (340) 228-1126.
The Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra is inviting students to come and learn how to play instruments for the orchestra:
Flute
Clarinet
Saxophone
Trumpet
Trombone
Violin
Cello
Bass Violin
Snare Drum
Bass Drum
Percussion Auxiliary
Steel Pan
Piano
If your child is unsure of which instrument he/she wants to learn, it's OK. Please complete the Orchestra Contact Form and we'll give your child more information.
We want to talk to YOU
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra presents
"Christmas Under the Stars" WTJX special program
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra presents
"Christmas Under the Stars" WTJX-TV's 2022 Christmas special program
Thank you for your support
This project is jointly supported by a grant from the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC, a federal agency. The St. Croix Summer Workshop is also being supported by G-Clef Music Academy and the VI Housing Authority.
OUR PARTNERS
WEDNESDAY
8
TH
NOVEMBER
*During the school year, is your child usually in an after-school program?
During the school year, is your child usually in an after-school program?
What is the best time/day(s) to reach you by phone?
*Which U.S. Virgin Island do you reside?
Please specify:
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra presents
"Blow the Trumpet: Peace and Joy Have Come to Earth"
2023 Christmas Concert special
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra is being run by Partners for Strings, Inc. (PFS), a 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2020 to operate a FREE after-school music program for children, ages 6 to 17 on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix. The program uses music as a vehicle to transform lives. Our mission is to reach the at-risk and underserved youth in our community.
Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra presents "Blow the Trumpet: Peace and Joy Have Come to Earth" Christmas Concert. The youth orchestra's 2023 Christmas special celebrates the triumphant birth of Jesus Christ through music.
The 17 young players on violin, cello, flute, trumpet, clarinet, steel pan and drums relay the excitement of peace and joy through classic Christmas carols. The special features guest vocalist--the incomparable Lorna Freeman-Woodley singing "Silent Night", plus a trio of G-Clef Music Academy students sing "Joy to the World" arranged by Kandis Gumbs. Both songs were accompanied by Aboris De Jesus.
We welcome you to attend G-Clef Music Academy's Youth Orchestra Afternoons in the Summer. We have partnered with Partners for Strings, Inc. to bring children, ages 7 to 17 an amazing orchestral experience!!
It's one month of workshops aimed at helping beginners, intermediate and advanced musicians. The workshops, which start on June 4th are being held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at G-Clef Music Academy. The summer workshop series is FREE. Space is limited. Please click the link to apply: CLICK HERE TO APPLY
MAKE MUSIC THIS SUMMER
CHRISTMAS
WTJX SPECIAL
UPCOMING EVENTS
PARTNER WITH US!
