We recently awarded the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee (CMA) an $8,000 grant in support of scholarships that will help young instrumentalists and vocalists refine their skills and practice their craft through private lessons, auditions, workshops, competition and performance. Last year, the CMA reached over 1,000 young musicians in the Milwaukee, WI community with more than 95% of their programs involving students 18 years old or younger. According to the Executive Director of the CMA, Nancy Herro:

The value of arts education in promoting high achievement in all academic areas is well documented, but the need for serious music students to develop their skills through live performance before an audience, and to gain poise through solo audition and competition is often overlooked. This grant helps talented young musicians to pursue the next level of musicianship by providing unique performance opportunities and recognition of their accomplishments at a critical time in their growth and development.

Our grant helps students like Ayanna Gomez, who studies the viola at the CMA. Hear from her how music and the instruction she receives at the CMA impacts her life in this short video:

Read the Civic Music Association’s full press release here.