MAESTRO ENSEMBLES INC

Our goals are as follows:
• To give students a valuable tool to expand opportunities for creativity and self-expression, cooperative learning, academic success, and self-esteem.
• To identify talented students at an early age and to support their musical training, offering them quality instruction, instruments, and a full range of orchestral experiences
• To serve as an impetus to start or expand opportunities to study music, particularly stringed instruments, while a student of the Baltimore City School system.
• To develop training for music teachers and interns working with inner City populations.
• To create a program in partnership with other City institutions that addresses the mission without duplication of efforts or competition.
• To be a model for extra-curricular music education in other cities.
• To expand the program to provide new experiences, including a summer camp.
• To grow and secure the program for the future.
• To increase family involvement with the Bridges Program.

Our objectives are:
• Provide good quality instruments on which to learn
• Hire well trained teachers
• Give students small group experiences so that they learn to work together
• Bring together students from different areas of the city
• Identify and applying for appropriate grants and other sources of funding
• Hire additional administrative personnel to support program growth
• Increase the size of the Maestro Ensembles Board within the fiscal year
• Identify potential partners to enhance and expand the program

Currently our main goal is to extend our reach, to serve more disadvantaged students by enrolling more schools. If we are able to add more schools, we will also need to hire an additional employee. We have only one administrative employee at this time. The remainder of the work at Maestro Ensembles is performed by volunteers.

Another action that will improve the quality of our services is to be able to hire, on a consistent basis, student interns from Baltimore School for the Arts. The internship program is valuable to our Bridges program and it provides high school students training in working with inner City students.

In the past year we have expanded our Board of Directors. More board members and advisers have given us the capability of adding a Grant Committee. This committee has identified many possible sources of funding, and we have already been the recipient of three grants, with several applications still outstanding, and several Letters of Inquiry having been sent to possible sources.

Other Board members are looking into getting corporate sponsors for us. We have added our first corporate sponsor this year.

Board members have attended MANO workshops and have learned techniques for better fundraising efforts. We have consulted with social media experts, and now have an improved presence on Facebook, and an improved website.

If we are able to expand to new schools, staff resources will need to be expanded. Our current Manager can expand her hours, and a new assistant can be hired. If the number of participating schools more than doubles, administrative staff and teaching resources will need to be expanded more significantly.

• Maestro Ensembles, Inc. has established a strong Board of Directors with more outreach into the community.
• We have a strong, committed executive committee
• We have been able to consult with experts in grant writing and social media.
• We have advisors who are accomplished in their respective fields and available to us when the need arises
• We have a far better social media presence
• We are getting better at fundraising
• Our upcoming professional video will give everyone who views it a glimpse of our outstanding program

Since Maestro Ensembles, Inc. started as it own umbrella for the Bridges Program in 20012 we have accomplished the following:

• We have added new schools, now totalling six
• We are getting more name recognition and more donations.
• Maestro Ensembles helped to plan a summer camp at the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA)
• We have gained our first corporate sponsor
• We have added more Board members
• We have established a grant committee and, have received three grants.
• We are having out first professional video filmed by BSA film students.

What we plan to do next is to bring our unique program to more schools in Baltimore City, and to continue to expand our board and identify more grants.