The Concord Community Music School received a $14,000 grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation.
The contribution lends support to the music school’s Music in the Community Initiative (MICI), which takes music school faculty members into public schools, early childhood programs, public housing communities, mental health programs and other human service agencies across New Hampshire to provide music education programs free-of-charge.
“The Music in the Community Initiative is a perfect blending of the Lincoln Financial Foundation’s mission, which is to increase access to the arts and art education across all economic strata,” said Byron Champlin, program officer at Lincoln Financial Group. “We are pleased to provide support to the Concord Community Music School’s efforts to reach out to a broad cross-section of the community.”
The Music in the Community Initiative began in 1998, as a response to statewide requests for Concord Community Music School programs beyond its home facility.
During the 2014-15 school year, music school faculty in the program taught 580 sessions, reaching 955 individuals who received a total of 10,400 educational services valued at $120,300, at no cost to the students.
As a statewide organization with a mission of access, the music school has concentrated MICI services in Concord, Manchester, Tilton and Laconia as regions in the state with partner organizations serving students with the greatest need, whether they are New American families, or individuals with special needs, or families with low incomes.
In Concord, significant MICI partnerships, some of them ongoing since 1999, serve children and adults with disabilities or limited income.
Liz Faiella
