David France writes:
Only
a dream...I only had a dream...no money, no resources..only a
dream...but 6 years ago I shared that dream. I realized it couldn't only
live inside of me and having NO idea how to make it happen I simply
starting sharing it.
I started at Berklee College of Music...literally on the sidewalk with
Craig Dwyer and we stopped people whose instrument cases looked like
violins, violas, and cellos and said..."If you go to Berklee and you
play the cello....you
probably have another cello somewhere....would you want to donate that
extra instrument to a kid in Boston?" and they did....a month later with
the help of Boston music students and The Hungry for Music Foundation
we had 28 donated instruments.
I
then shared this vision with musicians in Boston of how I wanted to
create an orchestra that existed to light a positive fire in the lives
of kids who couldn't normally afford lessons...and Rhett Price, David
Hurtado Gómez, WildSeed SunDay, Josh Knowles, and Aaron Fried caught
that vision and said they would teach with me for FREE
A
few weeks before launching a principal at a middle school in Roxbury
said "none of our kids want to be in your orchestra but we have a space
we're not using afterschool that you can use for free" and we had a home
to house this dream.
Then
we needed kids so after many assembly speeches 60 kids said they were
interested, I invited 20 to the program and on the first day 6 years ago
today...6 kids showed....and we launched.
6
years later those kids who never touched an instrument have performed
over 50 concerts for over 10,000 people. 2 of our alumni are now college
graduates, 2 are college seniors, we've had 1 valedictorian, numerous
relationships created, and countless lives changed forever...set on a
more hopefully trajectory for the future.
None of this would have happened if I kept my dream to myself and if so many of you didn't respond in support to that vision.
Thank
you from the bottom of my heart. Our work has only just begun and we
need your help more than ever to see this vision live on in the far
future. If you'd like to help make a difference in the lives of our
inspired community of musicians in Roxbury I'd graciously ask you to
consider becoming one of our monthly patrons. For as little as $2 a
month you can help us make this project more sustainable so it can live
on as our legacy far into the future.
Make a difference and become a Patron TODAY: http://bit.ly/2nzXcf4
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