Strike a Chord: South Bronx Organization Mentors Youth Through Music

In 1975 economist and musician Jose Antonio Abreu founded El Sistema, a youth orchestra designed to open up the world of classical music to Venezuela's poor.Now one organization is continuing the work of Abreu in the South Bronx:

 

On Tuesday nights a small class room in a Bronx elementary school transforms into a jazz band rehearsal space: desks are pushed to the side and music stands and instruments of all shapes and sizes pour in. 

 

The jazz band is new, but the program is part of an organization that's been running youth orchestras in the Bronx since 2009. Liza Austria and her husband, Richard Miller, founded UpBeat NYC because they saw a desperate need in the community for a program that taught musical skills and empowered the youth in an underserved area. Austria says her program echoes the work of Abreu, which focused heavily on developing the character of its students.

 

She said, "We see our work as mentoring and social development work rather than primarily music work."

 

One fourteen year old student, Isaac Perez, said that his family struggles with paying the bills and has had to move around a lot. However, UpBeat NYC provides him with an outlet that most kids in his area don't have access to.

 

Perez said, "When I am playing a song, I don't really think about where I am or how I'm doing, I just think about playing."

 

Isaac is one of the older kids in the jazz ensemble. It’s a large and diverse group of kids that Austria thinks will one day make up a lively part of New York's music scene.