PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC STUDENTS TRAVELING and PERFORMING IN WASHINGTON D.C. AT AN AWARDS CEREMONY FOR THE NATIONS TOP HONOR GIVEN BY FEDERAL ARTS AND CULTURAL AGENCIES
Cited as one of the best creative youth development programs in the country
Marcus Wolf, 16, of Phoenix, Arizona, Lourde Childs, 13, of Peoria, Arizona and Michael Rodriguez, 15, of Phoenix, Arizona will be traveling to our Nation’s Capital on November 09, 2017 to represent The Phoenix Conservatory of Music and find out if the organization’s College Prep Program is an awardee for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.
The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP) Award is given to outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs that are transforming the lives of young people. The Phoenix Conservatory of Music’s (PCM) College Preparatory Program is one of 50 finalists in the running to be honored for their exceptional work in the field of out of school arts education.
The NAHYP Award is the highest honor in the country that can be given to an out of school time arts program. It is given in Washington D.C. Only 12 awardees are chosen from a pool of 350 nominations and 50 finalists from across the United States.
Programs that receive the award are recognized as the country’s best in providing creative youth development programs and using engagement in the arts and humanities to generate a wide range of positive outcomes and exemplify how arts and humanities programs outside of the regular school day enrich the lives of young people throughout the country by teaching new skills, nurturing creativity, and building self-confidence. These creative youth development programs offer high-quality and intensive instruction on weekends, afternoons, and summer vacations, providing a safe and productive space for young people in the hours when they are often the most vulnerable. Their carefully focused projects supplement in-school curricula with exposure to a wide variety of artistic and scholastic pursuits. Arts and Humanities education has always been a priority the federal arts and culture agencies.
First presented in 1998, the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards were presented through a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in cooperation with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA).
Phoenix Conservatory of Music provides a continuum of high quality music education and experiences to hundreds of students annually, with programs ranging from introductory level in-house education programs and after school programs to more advanced private lessons and the most prestigious College Prep Program for contemporary music education in the state: The Berklee College of Music’s City Music Network and P.U.L.S.E. programs. Since the inception of PCM’s College Prep Program in 2010, the program is providing a pathway for students to achieve their dreams- one note at a time. With 3-10 hours per week of low to no cost engagement, the organization provides students 4-12 grades with private music lessons, music theory classes, enrichment classes and Popular Music Ensembles. They have a 95% graduation rate (compared to an 86% in the local community and a 77% in the state), 71% go on to college or university, 43% of those students are studying music or music related fields, and they have earned more than $1 Million Dollars in Scholarship Offers.
In order to cheer the organization on, The Phoenix Conservatory of Music is having a viewing party on the evening of November 09 with student performances, appetizers, and a video viewing of the awards ceremony where PCM students Lourde Childs and Michael Rodriguez will be performing Man In The Mirror recorded by Michael Jackson, written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett; produced by Quincy Jones. Link to the students performing during a rehearsal: https://youtu.be/VdFBLPXUsjU
