We're so proud of our 2020 graduates. From "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to Haydn concertos, these Roslindale Community Program have grown immensely -- as musicians and as people -- through years of lessons, rehearsals, and recitals. As they undertake their next adventures, we we wish them joy, discovery, and a lifetime of musical experiences.

Congratulations to...
Divya
High School: Boston Latin 
Instrument: Violin
mC teacher: Josh
Next Steps: Boston University (biology/pre-med)
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• What do you remember from your earliest violin lessons?

I remember struggling to read music when I first started lessons. Sometimes, I would actually write the notes’ letters above the music because it would take forever to play and read just one line. After years of practice, though, reading music has become almost innate.

• What do you like about music?

I like music because it is a way to express and understand yourself. I also like creating something that sounds good to me and others.

• Can you remember a challenge that you worked through? Something that used to seem very difficult, but is now easy?

Playing chords used to be tough for me but it has definitely gotten easier with practice. 

• Do you have a favorite memory from your years of violin lessons?

I really liked the rhythm games we played in Chamber Kids since we were able to incorporate everyone’s different rhythms to create one cohesive melody. 

• Do you have a favorite piece of music? It could be one you learned on your instrument, or something else entirely.

My favorite piece on the violin is probably Czardas. I like the song’s folk elements and how it starts off slow and later gets faster and faster.

• What's next for you?

I’ll be majoring in biology at BU on the pre-med track. Hopefully, I can get into research and figure out what track of medicine I would like to pursue.
 

• Do you think you'll keep playing your violin? Can you imagine what role it might play in the future?

I definitely think I will continue to play the violin and possibly join the orchestra at BU. 

​As I prepare to lead my final board meeting next week, I can’t help but look back across my nearly six years of supporting musiConnects and feeling both gratitude and satisfaction. Gratitude for the many colleagues who have been similarly inspired by our mission and who have given so much of themselves to attempt to realize it. Satisfaction for playing a significant role in strategically shaping the trajectory of our growth, building our organizational culture, and deepening our roots.
 
My first glimpse of musiConnects came from conversations with Betsy Hinkle, the founder. While I was helping to build Community MusicWorks in Providence, she was hard at work establishing her own programming at Mattapan’s Chittick Elementary School, which served as her home base for nine years. Several years later, after I began a new position at the New England Conservatory, Betsy asked me to join Jim and Diane—a small group of committed advisors. She was worried about burning out, and could we please help her take her start-up to the next level? We became, essentially, a nonprofit board-in-training. Betsy looked to us to put in place the necessary pieces to support her vision: transforming the lives of children and families through the vehicle of chamber music.
 
Due to her early fundraising success and spendthrift budgeting, Betsy had managed to save up more than $40,000 by the time she realized that she couldn’t continue to carry the responsibilities of a growing organization on her own. Together, we made the decision to hire an administrator, allowing Betsy to return her focus to teaching and performing—the two activities that she loves most.
 
Since 2013, each year has seen substantial new developments that have refined and solidified the organization’s infrastructure. If musiConnects were a seafaring vessel, many of these developments have been made below the surface of the water, meaning that, from the shore, the changes may not be apparent. However, down below, the engine room machinery that powers the Resident Musicians’ daily work has been painstakingly constructed and refined.
 
Along with Betsy choosing to relinquish her leadership role in order to focus on programmatic duties as a Resident Musician, another critical moment for the organization came three years ago. In April 2016, Nancy Galluzzo agreed to become musiConnects’ first executive director. Returning to the nautical imagery, Nancy has, among other accomplishments, calmed the waters and provided a steady hand on the wheel for our committed crew of musicians.
 
In 2019, musiConnects continues to thrive. These days, I spend most of my time as President thinking about how to strategically integrate our varied programming within Boston’s Mattapan community or how to increase the membership of our Board. Five short years ago, several of us sat around Jim’s dining room table wondering if we dared risk Betsy’s carefully accumulated savings to invest in building up the organization’s infrastructure. I’m so glad that we did. As I conclude my service on the board this month, I’m proud of being part of the team that made that strategic decision, and so many others since, to help musiConnects move ever closer to achieving its mission.
 
Reflecting on these past years of being so closely affiliated with musiConnects, it feels good to support something that provides opportunities for feeling gratitude and satisfaction. This mission of creating community change through chamber music is really something very special. Thank you for joining me and playing your part.
 
Heath Marlow
President, Board of Directors 

In September of 2018, in an effort to engage more meaningfully with Mattapan residents, musiConnects posted a Request for Proposals seeking individual artist or arts and culture organization currently creating and performing in the Mattapan neighborhood who would be excited by the opportunity to collaborate with professional string musicians to create an experimental performance merging genres.

Award winning Mattapan Artist, Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire, answered the call.  With extensive experience in community arts engagement and as a life-long resident of Mattapan, a collaboration between Marjorie and musiConnects was perfect.

Over the next few months, Marjorie and musiConnects met to envision what the evening would look like.  Holding the event at the Mattahunt BCYF was a natural choice as both Marjorie and musiConnects have independently held programming there and the community center is familiar to Mattapan residents. 

After some fruitful visioning sessions, Marjorie and musConnects decided to create an evening of essentially instruction-less painting  with our live musicians tapping into various emotions encouraged by eclectic repertoire choices.  Our musicians also experimented with performing in different locations in the room.  Despite that earlier paint  classes by Marjorie were usually guided, the painters were excited to think about the intersection of painting and music to inspire their creativity.

By all accounts the evening was a success and provided a wonderful vehicle for Mattapan residents to spend an evening with each other, a local artist and local musicians in a creative collaboration.  Stay tuned for another experiment!

​By making a gift to musiConnects this Spring, you will ensure the impact of many exciting programs focused on all stages of youth development.  Our new Peer Leadership Program is a great example. David Rubin, a Resident Musician and the group’s organizer, describes the idea and goals of the program:
 
“For myself - and many of my colleagues, too - music became a focal point in my life as a teenager. I started playing violin as a child, but it wasn’t until I was older — when I started making music with other kids who were similarly committed, and when I began to understand music as a vehicle to engage with the world and express one’s feelings and inner life — that I understood musical practice as something that could be valuable and meaningful in the long-term.
 
Our initial goal has been to start small - to create a space for the older students to come together, and to see what happens in that space. To that end, I started organizing bi-weekly meetups for a small group of pre-teen & teen students in musiConnects’ residency programming. The idea was to create a space for these students to be themselves - forming bonds with each other and developing a social attachment to their music study, at an age where that attachment has the potential to deepen. The teens are driving the proceedings, and adults are there to gently guide and facilitate. Every week we share snacks and a check-in, catching up on everyone’s news. We discuss and explore musical topics, but with an emphasis on a) implications for the world at large (How can music matter?), and b) our own emotional responses (How can music matter to me?).
 
Make a safe space for a group of amazing kids, and there’s no limit to what they can discover about their art, the world, and themselves.  We have our traditions - only the holder of the “magic rosin” has speaking privileges! - and our jokes. We’ve had good discussions in which they’ve been thoughtful and vulnerable and curious. The foundation is there - I’m excited to see where this goes - next year and beyond.”
 
Student responses to the program have been positive, “I like how we can bond over our mistakes while enjoying learning new things,” and “This group means a place where we can be ourselves and is a break from our busy and stressful lives,” letting us know we are providing a safe, creative learning space.
 
You make these meaningful interactions possible at a critical stage in youth development.  Your gift now can encourage vulnerable youth to become healthy and effective peer leaders and  community members.
 
Warmly,
Nancy Galluzzo
Executive Director