arts experiences for underserved youth in the Greater
Phoenix area. Here are a few others:
Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona
freeartsaz.org
This nonprofit youth arts organization provides creative and
therapeutic arts programs for abused and homeless children
to help them build resiliency, learn to trust and heal. Programs
include weekly mentoring, workshops with professional artists,
performance attendance and multi-cultural, hip-hop and
theater camps.
Harmony Project Phoenix
harmonyprojectphx.org
Harmony Project is a multi-year mentoring project for
low-income youth that increases positive development and
social inclusion through the study and performance of music.
Young Arts Arizona
youngartsaz.org
The goal of Young Arts Arizona is to increase positive
self-concept by displaying artwork of at-risk children and youth
as well as those who are physically challenged or facing a
serious or terminal illness. The nonprofit collaborates with working
artists, schools and social agencies that provide art through
curricula or arts workshops.
As a 10-year-old student in Phoenix’s Roosevelt School District, Chaz Salazar played flute in the fifth grade band. By the time he hit eighth grade, Salazar’s band director said he had nothing left to teach him and suggested private lessons.
“He knew that I couldn’t afford the $50 a week, so he recommended me to Rosie’s House,” Salazar says. “Within three months of lessons, I entered the Phoenix Youth Symphony Young Musicians Competition and I won first place in my division.”
Salazar is one of many Phoenicians who have benefited from attending Rosie’s House: A Musical Academy for Children, founded in 1996 by homeless-community advocate Rosie Schurz and her late husband Woody as a community music center for underprivileged children in central Phoenix’s Oakland neighborhood.
Now a master’s candidate in flute performance at Arizona State University, Salazar is auditioning for orchestras. “Rosie’s House gave me the tools I needed to move forward in my musical development and career,” he says.
Schurz’s inspiration for the after-school program stems from a childhood lost to World War II, when she and her family fled their Munich home, leaving Schurz’s violin behind. Several years ago, she began taking lessons again after a seven-decade hiatus.
Rosie’s House recently celebrated 20 years with a gala concert that raised more than $80,000 for the nonprofit, which hopes to serve 500 children this year. No longer in the “little house” where the program began, Rosie’s House meets at the Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix’s Central Arts District. Though the church provides a large space, the program is “bursting at the seams,” says Becky Ballard, Rosie’s House chief executive officer. “We’re only able to accept one in 10 kids [who apply].”
Rosie’s House provides free music instruction, loaned instruments, performance opportunities and college readiness resources for students ages 5-18. Students must fall within the parameters of HUD guidelines for low-income housing and go through an interview process. The student population is about 70 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Caucasian and 8 percent African-American, Ballard says. Once accepted, students can participate in group classes, instrumental and vocal ensembles and private lessons.
Learning music is just part of the bigger picture, Ballard says. “We bridge achievement in music to achievement in life and help our students learn real-life skills through the process of learning music.” Ballard witnesses tremendous change in students as they progress through the program. “I see confidence, creativity and a feeling of ‘I can do this.’ They identify as musicians, creatives and as performers.”
Though most of the students don’t follow a musical path, Rosie’s House boasts a 96 percent college attendance or military enrollment rate. “Their peer group is at about 40 percent,” Ballard says.
Rosie’s House is a finalist for the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. If selected, the nonprofit will receive a $10,000 award and accept the award from First Lady Michelle Obama.
“[It] would mean so much to Rosie’s House,” Ballard says. “The award would honor the dedication of so many inspiring people: our founders, our faculty members, our staff, our board and the community of support that makes our work possible.”
