Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Receives William Penn Foundation Grant to Support Tune Up Philly

Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), has announced that the PYO organization is the recipient of its first grant from the William Penn Foundation. The two-year grant of $82,500 will support expansion of Tune Up Philly (TUP), now in its seventh season.

Tune Up Philly provides after-school music instruction to over 220 students in 10 teaching sites in under-resourced communities throughout Philadelphia.

The William Penn Foundation grant funding will allow TUP to expand its program to reach 30 additional students, with a total of 250, by 2018. It will provide for increased teaching artist training and professional development, more group performance opportunities including the continuation of the TUP Saturday Orchestra program and implementation of program evaluation. This grant support will better allow TUP to continue to build students' musical talent, and expand their life skills and academic achievement, using music to open doors to new opportunities.

Scaglione is thrilled to have the support of the William Penn Foundation. He said, "This is the first grant that the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization has received from The William Penn Foundation. We are honored to join numerous arts organizations and enriching educational programs throughout Philadelphia in receiving such important and highly impactful support."

Tune Up Philly offers a differentiated musical curriculum that was created to meet the specific needs of students living in challenging social and economic conditions, with a focus on effecting meaningful community change. The program offers children in underserved communities an opportunity to learn and perform orchestral music and make a true difference within their communities, both through the use of music and through a purposeful connection with others. TUP students have opportunities to collaborate with peers outside of their community, learn from highly trained and passionate teaching artists, and play in world-class venues such as the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall. Each year, 100% of TUP graduates matriculate into Philadelphia's top magnet and charter schools. Tune Up Philly, which operates as part of Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's educational pathway of programs, is led by Director Paul Smith, who has been involved with TUP since 2011.

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that increase educational opportunities for children from low-income families, ensure a sustainable environment, foster creativity that enhances civic life, and advance philanthropy in the Philadelphia region. In partnership with others, the Foundation works to advance opportunity, ensure sustainability, and enable effective solutions. Since inception, the Foundation has made nearly 10,000 grant totaling over $1.6 billion.

Now in its 77th year, training tomorrow's leaders, the renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization, led by President and Music Director, Maestro Louis Scaglione, is one of the nation's oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs, providing talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training. Students go on to excel in many diverse fields, and it is with pride that Philadelphia Youth Orchestra notes that many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are alumni. The organization is comprised of six program ensembles designed to meet specific needs and experience levels of students selected through a competitive audition process. The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 120 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 14-21. Young musicians 12-18 years old are featured in PYO's companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who is Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra. Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra that provides most students with their first introduction to large orchestral playing featuring students age 10-17 years old. Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute Dean of Faculty and Students, Paul Bryan, is an all brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists. PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) and PRYSM Young Artists ensembles provide string large ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of PRYSM is Gloria DePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor of PRYSM Young Artists is Andrea Weber. Tune Up Philly (TUP) is PYO's engagement program, directed by Paul Smith, that focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum. Go to www.pyos.org.

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