TRENTON MUSIC MAKERS INC

Musical – to provide children with music education in an ensemble-based, collaborative environment, with a long-term goal of developing a symphonic orchestra in which children from across Trenton develop advanced skill on their instruments, on par or surpassing the skill level of their suburban counterparts.

Social – to support the development of positive and healthy relationships among children, and between children and their teachers. Through a shared, ambitious pursuit of musical excellence, children develop peer interactive skills and an enhanced ability to listen and adjust their own contributions to those around them. As a result, they simultaneously develop closer bonds and empowered leadership skills. As children learn to create literal harmony in their orchestral setting, they develop peacemaking skills as they grow, that empower them to create broader harmony in their schools and communities. In the long term, we seek to contribute to a reduction in youth violence.

Academic – to change children’s lives by including them in an atmosphere of opportunity to help them achieve their fullest potential through both music and academics. Music-making provides a touch point for hard work that leads to success, which can be generalized in a child’s experience. The cycle of ambitious pursuit, and shared achievement, lays a pathway for striving in all things, with an expectation of success. We seek to contribute to improved attendance rates, and over time, improved graduation rates.

Our programs are inspired by El Sistema, the internationally-renowned movement that originated in Venezuela in the mid-1970’s and which has grown to serve millions of low-income children worldwide. The vision of El Sistema, as articulated by El Sistema USA, is “to provide music education to underserved youth, developing the essential life skills and habits of mind they need to lead successful lives.” El Sistema-inspired programs have been demonstrated to accelerate social-emotional learning, to support the development of executive functioning, improve school performance, and reduce involvement with the juvenile justice system. In Trenton Music Makers, we provide students with engaging, creative ways to build skills, and to take part in a pro-social community, while avoiding the dangers on their streets during hours when they could otherwise be unoccupied. We remove economic and logistical barriers by providing instruction and instruments free of charge, and by transporting students from their schools to our central program site.

Our preschool program, “Music for the Very Young: Music, Movement and Literacy,” provides joyful and interesting music instruction for some 500 children each year. The program weaves music and movement into the fabric of the preschool day, trains preschool teachers in creating a musical classroom, and engages children's families in their learning.

Our pre-orchestra program for kindergarteners and first graders brings children and parents together after school twice a week for expanded music-making, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic activities, and beginning violin instruction.

Our orchestra program for students in second through twelve grades takes place four days per week in one central site, playing daily as an orchestra. Small studio classes provide mentorship and skill development; percussion and choir support musicianship; improvisation and collective composition amplify youth voice. We strongly emphasize democratized teaching, in which every skill learned provides a peer teaching opportunity. Our students collaborate at least twice a year with students from peer programs; travel to other parts of the region also serves to expand their awareness of the musical community of which they are a part. Our intensive approach leads to rapid mastery, surpassing expectations from the community and from our students themselves, and further energizes their continuing hard work.

Through ensemble music participation, students gain a clear sense of their rightful role as an asset to their community, rather than a burden on their teachers and parents. Striving and achieving become a cycle, and students discover how much fun can be had while working hard.

Since our founding in 1998, we have fostered fair educational opportunities for Trenton’s students by supplementing the educational attainment gap between urban and suburban students. Trenton Music Makers’ Executive and Artistic Directors have a combined thirty-eight years of experience in supporting young people’s development by providing high-quality music education and performance opportunities. Our diverse team of teaching artists includes master teachers, young and dedicated college graduates, freelance musicians, and public-school music teachers. Their various strengths are a winning combination – one that serves children’s musical and social development in an unparalleled manner.

Our curriculum draws from the best practices in music education, including the Music Together early childhood program, Suzuki-influenced instruction, trusted string methods, El Sistema-inspired practices of orchestral culture, and collective composition.
We are active participants in global music education networks, including El Sistema USA, the Carnegie Hall Weill Institute, YOLA National, El Sistema Global, the American String Teachers Association, and the El Sistema NJ Alliance; through these communities we continually refresh our knowledge of best education and business practices, and our teaching artists receive regular professional development in musical, social-emotional, culturally-responsive education.

Locally, we are fortunate to work in partnership with the Capital Area YMCA to provide affordable school bus transportation, and also as partners in the YMCA Adult and Child Food Access program, to provide a daily hot meal for every child in our orchestra. Together with GetSet, the literary afterschool program with whom we share space at Westminster Presbyterian Church, we share access to college students who provide tutoring services.

In addition to a wide circle of generous individuals, corporate and family foundations, we are grateful for key funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the El Sistema USA PRESTO program, Carnegie Hall, the George H. and Estelle M. Sands Foundation, the Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, and essential in-kind support from JE Banks String Instruments and Russo Music.

Research confirms that, in addition to its intrinsic value, music education also enhances other learning, particularly interpersonal synchrony, reading readiness, a reduction in toxic stress levels, and neuroplasticity and language development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department of Ed reported in its recent study that access to high-quality arts programs resulted in a 75% closing of the language arts achievement gap between high and low socio-economic groups. The Department of Labor reported during the same period that the percentage of low-income students with high-quality arts programs who graduated from high school – 96% – exceeded the nationwide high school graduation rate, across all income levels.

Trenton Music Makers has been a significant force in community making since its founding in 1998 as Trenton Community Music School. Our early years were dedicated to providing affordable private lessons, on a wide range of instruments. We accomplished this in partnership with Trenton churches, schools, and other community organizations, and by subsidizing the lesson costs with the support of foundations, corporations and individuals.

Then in the wake of the landmark Abbott v. Burke rulings, which brought universal Pre-K to Trenton, we originated "Music for the Very Young," in collaboration with Trenton Public Schools’ Office of Early Childhood Programs, with its first site at the Puerto Rican Community Day Care Center. Having directly experienced the success of ensemble music making, through this and other community-based projects, in 2015 we committed to an ensemble model. At that time we partnered with the Trenton Public Schools to launch the Trenton Music Makers Orchestra, with 30 children in the third and fourth grades. Now with twenty years since our founding, we engage over 500 preschool families, and 100 grade-school students, per year.

Recent evaluations give us reason to be very optimistic: Parent and student surveys of social-emotional learning compiled from 2016-2019 indicate that 83% of participants show marked improvements in confidence, perseverance, capacity to take risks, creative expression, teamwork, and/or peer relations. 91% of teachers over the same time period reported academic benefits, including our students’ improved ability to complete a task, critical thinking skills, school attendance, homework completion, and/or attitude toward learning. 2018-19 data indicated high retention and attendance rates among children in our program. We found that 92% of children remained in the program for the full year, and of these, 97% performed in at least two public performances. Although we were unable to obtain attendance data from their school district, the previous year we had been pleased to learn that our elementary students achieved an average in-school attendance rate of 96%.