Ingenuity State of the Arts Progress Report 2015-2016 | Page 58

profile on partnership:
CHICAGO YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS’ MUSIC
PATHWAYS REDEFINES PARTNERS’ PATHWAY TO SUCCESS
By Joshua Simonds,
former executive director of CYSO†
Successful partnership stories often follow
a formula. An under-resourced school
partners with a community arts provider
and they form a relationship that grows and
flourishes in perpetuity. We as community
partners may foster this construct by
thinking that if a school truly recognizes the
impact of our work, a shift will be made in
the school’s priorities to put our programs
at the center of their planning. However,
I’d like to challenge us to see success in a
variety of ways.
From 2012 to 2015, Chicago Youth Symphony
Orchestras (CYSO) partnered with Holden
Elementary School in the Bridgeport
neighborhood of Chicago. The partnership
was part of our Music Pathways Community
Engagement
Program,
a
three-year
residency program engaging 1st through
4th grade classrooms at four Chicago
Public Schools (CPS). The curriculum was
specifically designed to introduce 3rd
and 4th grade students to the basics of
instrumental performance. We also focused

Joshua Simonds is now the executive director of Percussive Arts Society

†

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on professional development and arts
integration, and provided live instrumental
performances in each residency year.
When CYSO first started at Holden, the
school did not have a music program. By
the third year of our residency program,
Holden’s administration made the decision
to invest in a full-time music teacher. In
addition, a survey of parents and students
led to the creation of a guitar program that
now serves more than 100 students.
Holden’s decision showed a positive shift in
the school community’s belief in the value
of music education and its beneficial, longterm impact on children. While Holden had
a strong interest in a continued partnership
with CYSO, we acknowledged that our
efforts and resources should be directed
toward a new school where we might
foster decisions similar to those made at
Holden. After all, there are still CPS schools
without an established music program,
and it is important for those schools that
we continue on to our next successful
partnership.