MusicWorks
Lexington, Kentucky
In 2013, I co-founded the mid-south’s first El Sistema-inspired music program, MusicWorks.
I laid the foundational groundwork for the program and handled the development of community relationships. This included designing the program's structural components, recruiting partners, and much more.
What is MusicWorks?
We founded MusicWorks with the belief that access to a high-quality music education should be a right. Modeled off of the famous El Sistema program in Venezuela, MusicWorks was built to eliminate barriers to music education and performance by providing instruction and resources at no cost to students in exchange for their full commitment to the program.
As with most El Sistema programs, MusicWorks’ ensembles are built to function as a community, not an orchestra. Members work together to achieve a common goal, facilitating community pride.
MusicWorks draws over 40 students daily from Arlington Elementary and surrounding school districts for 2.5 hours of group musical development. Founded in 2013 by Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, in a partnership with the North Limestone CDC, MusicWorks has grown from a small group of participants to two performing ensembles that rehearse five days per week from 3:00pm - 5:30pm. The entire program - which is staffed by a program director and two teaching-artists - runs on an annual budget of $75,000, amounting to an annual investment of roughly $1,875 per child, since MusicWorks is completely free to participants.