Music Lessons for Vulnerable Communities!

On Sunday, April 18, we had the privilege of hosting a cello Masterclass Series with cellist Brant Tylor as our guest artist. Mr. Taylor is a cellist from the Chicago Symphony, one of the top orchestras in the world. For this event, four students from Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bolivia were selected to perform for Mr. Taylor and receive feedback. At the end of the class, after a brief Q&A, Mr. Taylor expressed with excitement that he had never met cellists from these countries. 

Throughout this year, we have had numerous world renowned artists, university professors, freelance musicians, orchestral musicians, etc. visit Musicians for the World. Each of these guest artists have expressed the abundance of joy that was sparked upon meeting students from the most remote corners of the world, each from a geographic location they would have only dreamed to engage with. 

MFW has ongoing partnerships with the University of Maryland College of Music and the Orchestra Now at Bard College. Members of these institutions have the opportunity to mentor worldwide students through MFW, allowing them to musically engage with some of the most vulnerable areas of the world. These partnerships are not only beneficial to our students, but to the members of these educational institutions. Through MFW, they receive a broader understanding of the world while enriching their educational experience in ways that are both meaningful and unique.

This pandemic has taught us that it is possible to connect at a distance in many different ways. Realizing that we could connect through music, at a distance, planted the first seedling of an idea which sprouted into Musicians for the World today. We are continuously grateful that we were able to find a silver lining throughout these troubling times. We are excited for the future and, with your support, we will continue to create a more connected world.

Santiago de Chiquitos is located in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and is populated by only a few thousand people. We were fascinated to discover that a community with such rich indiginous traditions was also home to the Orquesta Misional de Santiago de Chiquitos and was flourishing with an abundance of South American Baroque Music. 

Since becoming one of our Global Partners, aspiring musicians from Chiquitos have received free music instruction through MFW’s excellent faculty. On the seventh of February, a Chiquitos’ native cellist, Pablo, was selected to perform in our Masterclass Series with renowned cellist, Ilamri Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins is the principal cellist of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway and has performed as a soloist with various orchestras around the globe. Alongside three other cellists from Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago, Pablo performed a delightful rendition of Bach’s Prelude from his Suite in G Major and received guidance from Mr. Hopkins himself. 

Alongside our efforts to provide free music education worldwide, we have also been making sure that students have the tools needed to learn and engage in our program. Last year, we were contacted by a young, aspiring musician from Kenya, Velvine, whose dream was to be a professional double bass player and to spread music throughout her community. Velvine had the dedication, drive, and passion to achieve her goals, but she was missing one very important part of the equation: an instrument. Velvine explained to us that her only access to an instrument has been in Nairobi, four times a year, six hours from her hometown in Eldoret. 

Velvine currently has a bass en route to her thanks to the generosity of many different individuals. We thank Upton Bass, who donated an instrument to MFW, and a young couple from New York, who donated a flight case, strings, and various music books. After securing these materials, our founders set out on a two day road trip, picking up the bass and moving it over to Baltimore where our friends at Kenya Connect helped us to ship the instrument all the way to Velvine in Kenya. 

Our work would not be possible without your generous support. Thank you for playing such an important role in our mission and for believing in the power of music and education. 

Links:

• Vel's testimonial