Home Education and Community HEAR Initiative

HEAR Initiative

The Philadelphia Orchestra is deeply committed to providing our global community with music and education programs through the HEAR initiative. We created HEAR to promote Health and wellness, to champion music Education, to eliminate barriers to Accessing the orchestra, and to maximize impact in the community through Research throughout the Philadelphia region.

The Philadelphia Orchestra remains steadfast and innovative while continuing to bring music to people around the world.

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Health

HEAR heals our city through musical experiences that provide hope and inspiration for those experiencing trauma such as homelessness, incarceration, and health crises.

“The Music Ministry is what really gave me the hope that...you can get back on your feet. You can do it. Every time I came to Music Monday, it always gave me that hope.” – Jon, Broad Street Ministry Music Mondays Participant

Music Therapy at Broad Street Ministry
One of the main goals of these sessions is to create a safe space for all sections of our community. Participants create sounds and melodies that stay with them for the rest of the week and ease their days. More importantly, this environment brings everyone together through music. The background or the status of the individual doesn't matter; during the workshop, everyone is equal.

Music and Wellness Program at KIPP
In partnership with Temple University’s Arts and Quality of Life Research Center and the KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Academy, The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Music and Wellness Choir Program harnesses the benefits of communal singing and songwriting to increase wellness benchmarks like confidence, stress-reduction, and coping skills in KIPP West’s fifth grade students.

Education

HEAR transforms the lives of young Philadelphians through music, providing immersive educational experiences for K-12 students and developing the next generation of music-makers.

“After their first concert at The Kimmel Center, my students felt so proud and so happy. Students who were defensive or hard to reach all year had their defenses down and were overjoyed. And in that moment I knew they were validated and affirmed through music.” —Ms. Chrysyn Harp, Music Director, KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Academy

School Partnership Program
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s School Partnership Program seeks to foster a love and appreciation for music in second through fifth grades by engaging students in the joy of music. This means that a teaching artist hired by The Philadelphia Orchestra will visit your child’s classroom and co-teach with the classroom teacher once a week.

School Ensemble Program
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s School Ensemble Program (SEP) delivers music education and instrumental, ensemble-based music instruction for underserved students. Instruction is provided multiple times per week, collaboratively delivered by the school’s Music Teachers and Orchestra Teaching Artists. Designed to expand to serve all grade levels within partnering KIPP schools, SEP will add one grade level at each school, each year until all students are served (K-8).

Access

HEAR welcomes the entire community—including people of every age and from all walks of life—to engage actively with The Philadelphia Orchestra. There’s something for everyone!

“I want to send a huge THANK YOU for this amazing opportunity for my students. The concert was incredible and all of the supporting links, narration, and information was super helpful for a student-based audience. This pandemic has made it very challenging to play instruments and sing so I have had to reinvent a music program. Everything you provided was such a great way of keeping music alive in the schools.” –Teacher, Sacred Heart Catholic School, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

School Concert Program
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Jane H. Kesson School Concert Program is the ideal way to expose students in grades 3–5 to the exciting and powerful art form of orchestral music. School Concerts familiarize students with the environment and traditions of a concert hall, equip them with fundamental musical vocabulary, and cultivate a lifelong interest in classical music.

Our City, Your Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is proud to present Our City, Your Orchestra, a series of free digital concerts performed by small ensembles recorded at Black-owned businesses and iconic cultural locations throughout the region.

Research

HEAR engages in ongoing research to better understand and serve Philadelphia’s arts education ecosystem and to maximize the impact of its community initiatives.

HEAR Initiative

Health

Education

Access

Research

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