The Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival received a generous gift that will expand our successful music education efforts. The mission of the Gould Family Foundation is to support innovative programs that promote experimental learning and the Arts. The foundation prefers programs that demonstrate a strong plan for sustainability and/or growth, and they fund organizations in Southern California, New York, Washington State and Washington, D.C.
The $5,000 grant will provide $1,000 each to our four island preschools to replace and expand the much loved music instrument and music education inventory that has provided eight years of joyful service to hundreds of preschool hands and hearts.
And it will provide $1,000 to augment the music education materials available to island kindergarteners through third grade in our public school. The Festival will work with the Preschool Directors, Pamela Wright from the public school and our Singing Pied Pipers
(community musicians recruited by OICMF) to develop a list of purchases for each of the four preschools and K-3rd grade curriculum. Our education program also includes week-long visits by guest Musicians-in-Residence several times a year. These Teaching Artists focus on engaging the youngsters in song and song-play while providing coaching for preschool staff through demonstration and discussion. In addition, Musicians-in-Residence for Kindergarten through early elementary build on the experiences of the preschoolers as they continue their education at the public school, working closely with the public school music teacher.
The importance of experiencing music and participating in musical activities at a very early age is well documented. The Gould Family Foundation has played a founding and central role in the success of the music education offered to preschool and school age children by the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival on Orcas Island by providing start-up funding for training and the purchase of music resources.
The OICMF Board, Artistic Staff and Executive Director Victoria Parker would like to thank the Foundation for investing in the community of Orcas Island, and most specifically with the focus on music education for young people.