Guitars Antiqua Music Program

We are raising the awareness of the importance of music education in our community one student at a time. Our goals include:

To establish and maintain a musical environment where children can feel safe and comfortable to express themselves without judgment

To demonstrate the importance of music education in children and how it positively impacts their cognitive, emotional and social development

To nurture children an appreciation toward music

To develop self-discipline in children through continuous practice and to increase self-esteem by performing for the public

To present a recital for families, teachers, and friends to celebrate our student's work and effort

To build a classical guitar community with the support of parents, teachers, community partners and local businesses

What makes our program design strong is the fact that it focuses on teaching children not only the basics of "how" to play guitar, but also to approach music from a whole different perspective. Students explore the correlation between music and everyday life by finding examples of how music affects us in various ways. Our curriculum is designed to give our students a fun experience learning about music while playing the guitar. In our 8-month program, we set a goal towards a public performance recital to give students the opportunity to play for their families, friends, and community. By doing this, we help them to overcome their self-doubt while gaining confidence and uplifting their self-esteem. In essence, students learn to play guitar at their own pace and from their own efforts.

Our program has established an effective relationship with all our students’ parents. Most parents in this community come from low-income households where English is not their primary language. Therefore, we outreach to these families and accommodate them by providing information in their native language. Since the beginning of our program, we have successfully engaged parents by inviting them to the classroom, informing them about the progress of their children, and advising them on how they can support their children at home. In a way, we are also teaching parents about the importance of music education for their children, and how our program is engaging them in a positive and intellectual way.

The Guitars Antiqua Music Program’s key leadership is composed of a group of highly educated individuals who share the same goal of creating a program that can positively impact the lives of the children in the community it serves. This group also shares a passion for change in the community, and music education presents an opportunity for a pathway towards a positive change. Our board of directors have thorough knowledge in the fields of education, child development, social development, marketing social networking. Our organization has also partnered with local city and county agencies who play a strong role in the expansion of our program for the years to come.

Guitars Antiqua understands the needs of this community. Our parents have learned overtime the importance of having a music program like ours in the community. This year, with some of our students making the transition to middle school, we have found the possibility to extend our services to a new school and reach out to more parents and families. Currently, we serve students in the elementary level who attend FDR elementary, a Title I school and students from Rogers Middle School. We are connecting families through collaboration, socializing, and volunteering at our special events. We believe our community needs this special bond to help parents and families feel proud of what their children are achieving through music education. Our program has now opened a new chapter in this small area where students and parents are learning about music in a fun, safe and welcoming environment.

Guitars Antiqua is predicting expansion in the following years on its classical guitar program. The success of our program is evident with the support of our parents, teachers and community members and our students are learning so much about music education on a weekly basis. This year, we received our first foundation grant through the D’Addario Foundation, which allowed us to attain financial stability for the rest of the year. We also received instrument donations from Hungry for Music, to help us provide instruments for our new group of students. This year we also organized our first highly successful fundraiser, which was well received and supported by our community members. Our students have performed at various venues throughout the year. Thus, giving them the opportunity to highlight their talent and what they have learned in the program. Our next long term goals include more enrollment for more children, class expansions, Staff and volunteer recruitment, donor acquisition and retention, and financial support from local and government agencies.

Our organization was established to offer a tuition-free program to children who lack the resources to have music education be part of their lives. We serve a diverse group of students who come from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds and music education is our channel to unify families, teachers, and the school administration.