A new generation brings classical music to new learners

Music is a powerful developmental tool boosting language and cognitive abilities in young children. Not everyone's kids were ever exposed to it, and this terrific youth orchestra is filling the gap.

I was raised on classical music as a kid. Our parents weren’t rich—Dad wrote down every penny he spent in a little notebook—but they made sure we took classical piano lessons from a very young age and continued through high school. One of us (three sisters) even has a master’s degree in piano and harp.

It was a gift I didn’t fully appreciate until decades later, but it underwrites so much of what I can easily do now, from writing to math and even playing piano after months of not doing so.

In order to do that, our parents had to have been exposed themselves to classical music, understood what it would mean in the long-run to during our temper tantrums, had the resources to afford an instrument—a piano—and the ability to send us to a school that was small but also supported music.

Many kids, especially in underserved communities, never had that exposure. Which is why I love this story from Forbes about how the largest black youth orchestra in America is redefining who belongs in classical music.

ICYOLA—the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles—is indeed doingexactly that, bringing music directly to the community, in schools and churches, rather than expecting a huge community spread out over 500+ square miles to come to them. And now they’re being featured internationally, bringing excitement and new dreams to millions of kids who otherwise might never hear of Beethoven.

What a great story! We hope you enjoy it as well!

If you like what we’re doing on Women Unbroken, let us know!

Buy us a coffee or subscribe—free or paid. And comment below—get active, join the conversation! TIA!