The New England Conservatory announced Thursday that local non-profit, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, has awarded a $2.5 million grant to launch a new initiative aimed at helping aspiring middle and high school musicians from underrepresented communities.
This initiative, named Boston Bridge to Equity and Achievement in Music, or BEAM, will promote inclusivity and diversity for youth in the arts, according to a press release from the New England Conservatory.
A coalition of music groups is orchestrating the BEAM initiative, including the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Community Music Center of Boston, Project String Training Education Program and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Catherine Weiskel, executive director of the BYSO, said the groups working on this collaborative initiative recognize the importance of programs that provide early education opportunities in the arts.
The consortium is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Intensive Community Program, which Weiskel said reaches out to children from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in classical music and provides them with instruments and music lessons.
“We have about 600 kids in the program, and about 11 percent of the top level [of the orchestra] comes from that program,” Weiskel said. “We take kids at a very early age, and after two or three years, they’re ready to audition, and hopefully they’ll get into BYSO. Once they do, we help support them the whole time.”
Weiskel said BEAM is not just about bringing in people from certain communities, but about creating opportunities for as many children as possible.
“Organizations like ours create a sense of community that kids don’t get in lots of other places,” Weiskel said, “… I think we need more and more kids doing good things.”
According the release, about 60 to 75 students will benefit from the BEAM program each year. The program will begin in the fall 2019, and The Mellon Foundation’s grant will fully support the project for three years, plus the nine months of planning.
While many children in Boston may already be exposed to music, NEC Preparatory School Dean Rebecca Bogers explained that the BEAM initiative aims to keep young students involved who would not otherwise have the resources to pursue music.
“… it takes years of dedication, and significant financial and cultural resources, to achieve true musical mastery,” Bogers wrote in an email. “BEAM will help students stick with it who have that talent and dedication, but otherwise might not have been able to continue in music.”
Early education programs in the arts have been important to students like Sarang Song, a senior at the Berklee College of Music.
“I played piano since I was four,” the 21-year-old said, “so I grew up being classically trained. Always having music around me definitely helped me be a stronger and more open minded musician.”
While Boston is home to a number of colleges and music programs, Berklee sophomore Sabrina Bondar said she noticed a difference in diversity between musical genres. In terms of diversity in classical music, Bondar said she believes the scene in Boston is less integrated.
“I’d say that the most progressive kinds of art in the Boston right now are like punk and hard indie rock,” the 19-year-old said.
Boston not only faces questions of diversity in the music scene, but a lack of city funding toward the arts, Bondar said. A 2016 study by The Boston Foundation found that Boston lagged behind other major cities in government funding for the arts, landing at just $4 per capita, as compared with New York City’s $15 and San Francisco’s $10.
While Boston is still a hub for student musicians, Berklee sophomore Brenna Larsen, 19, said she feels like there is a gap in arts accessibility in the city.
“Shows that are accessible to students are further away, like in Allston” the 19-year-old music business and songwriting double major said, “[You need] the ability to get transportation and money to get on the T.”
Larsen said although Berklee is successful at offering free musical programing to students, she thinks the city’s music environment as a whole is “hard to tap into.”
The Mellon Grant is just one example of the private funding that is imperative for the arts scene in Boston, Bogers wrote. She explained that both public and private funding are necessary for the arts to continue to be successful in Boston.
“Boston has a tremendous and thriving cultural and artistic scene, especially in music, and it’s an important part of what makes Boston a place people want to live, work, or visit,” Bogers wrote, “the arts play a crucial role underpinning the local economy as well as culture.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article included the title Boston Symphony Youth Orchestra, which has since been corrected to Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras.
