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AFK: Away From Keyboard
If you read all the way through my Long Rambling Bio, you learned in the last paragraph that I'm a board member of the People's Music School (PMS, unfortunately, for short.) Helping to grow the school while maintaining its mission via my board work is one of the most rewarding things I do.
The PMS provides free, professional-level music instruction to anyone who wants to learn, on a first-come, first-served basis. They serve about 350 students each term (three terms in a year) and could serve twice that if they had the capacity. Students and parents "pay" the school back by donating their time to the school.
Most of the students are lower-income kids who live near the school, located in the hard-scrabble Uptown neighborhood; and local teenagers and adults too. But there are a number of kids whose parents drive them in from other parts of the city and the suburbs, not just because the lessons are free, but because of the quality of the instruction.
The school's focus is on classical music; voice and instruments. The teachers are all professional musicians (some from the CSO and other renowned orchestras and ensembles) and are paid for their time. All students are required to take a Music Theory class while they learn their instruments, and all students get many chances to perform at the school and at city events.
The school was founded over 25 years ago by Rita Simó, a Julliard-trained classical pianist originally from the Dominican Republic. Rita recently retired (though she remains as a board member) and I was on the board during the long and difficult search for a new Executive Director. We were fortunate to find Mary Ellen McGarry, a luminary in Chicago's arts education for children scene.
We have a $400,000 budget that's primarily made up of grants; like a lot of other non-profit boards in these times the board is working on finding other funding sources. Seneca creates the school's print pieces, such as their bimonthly newsletter, pro-bono.
If you'd like to learn more about the People's Music School, give me ring or contact the school directly at 773-784-7032 or info@peoplesmusicschool.org.
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