Arts & Culture

Club Orchestra Brings Music To Elementary School Kids

89.1 WBOI | By Julia Meek

Published July 18, 2018 at 6:12 PM EDT

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This year's Club O members proud of their budding musical skills, and ready to perform.

Courtesy/Club O

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Gathering of particpants from last year's Sistema Seminaria at Goshen College.

Courtesy/Club O

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A gathering of happy participants.

Courtesy/Club O

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Class and teachers converging

Courtesy/Club O

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Students are always pumped to be hanging with Mr. Reeves.

Courtesy/Club O

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Brad Kuhns, Derek Reeves & Violetta Todorova pictured here with their own respective instruments, all teach violin to the Club O students.

Courtesy/Club O

Club Orchestra started delivering music education to local elementary school students a decade ago through the Boys and Girls Club.

Last year, it stepped up its game, and its playing field, by partnering with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Fort Wayne Community School system.

Club O, as it's affectionately nicknamed, has a team of eight instructors, made up of three philharmonic members, and teachers from the elementary and middle schools the program serves.

Teaching artists from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Derek Reeves, Violetta Todorova and Brad Kuhns, with program director, Aaron Samra (second from left) ready to share the musical passion.

For an update on its progress, WBOI's Julia Meek sat down with program manager, Aaron Samra, and teaching artist, Derek Reeves to discuss the project's mission, the world movement Club Orchestra is part of, and what impact the program is making with the community's youth.

You can learn more about the program at its Club O Fort Wayne Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/clubofortwayne/