Youth Church Orchestra Aims to Help Musicians of Color
2024-12-19
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1For more than two years, Ebonie Vazquez searched to find a music teacher of color for her son, Giovanni.
2He is 11 years old and loves to play the violin.
3Now, she has found that teacher at New Hope Presbyterian Church, a Christian religious center, near Los Angeles, California.
4Chineta Goodjoin, a Black pastor, leads New Hope.
5She started a string orchestra at the church in April to help children of color have a better chance to learn classical music.
6Goodjoin and the orchestra's leaders think it is important for the music teachers to look like their students and share similar life experiences.
7That is why the orchestra's director, Charles Dickerson and all its music teachers are people of color.
8Dickerson is also the director of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, which he founded in 2009.
9After Goodjoin's daughter Nyla began playing in that orchestra, Goodjoin decided to build a similar group at her church.
10The church's orchestra now has about 18 members, aged nine to 20. They play the violin, viola, bass and cello.
11The orchestra accepts all students who want to join.
12Ebonie Vazquez says having teachers of color has helped the orchestra members feel like they fit in well.
13"It's important they don't feel like outsiders, but are supported and feel like they belong," she said.
14"It has definitely helped my son connect more to the music and the craft."
15Her son Giovanni said that in the church orchestra, he could play classical music or popular modern music.
16He values being part of the church orchestra because "it's a piece of our community."
17"They encourage young musicians of color and everyone gets a chance to play and maybe use it as a stepping stone to get better or even turn this into a career," he said.
18Elizabeth Moulthrop is executive director of El Sistema, an international network of music education programs that was founded in Venezuela.
19She said programs like the church orchestra can help students go to life-changing summer music camps, receive college scholarships, and find connections to jobs.
20Goodjoin said she and her husband, Reggie Goodjoin, see a future for the orchestra where "African American kids play classical music and play it well."
21Reggie Goodjoin is a jazz musician and the church's music director.
22The group plays a mix of both classical and popular music.
23"I like to say they play everything from Bach to Beyonce," added Goodjoin.
24They also learn music by famous African American jazz composers such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
25Goodjoin said she believes the church is a great place to start talking about fairness in music. "Music is freedom," Goodjoin added.
26The pastor is already getting praise from parents.
27One boy who plays the upright bass was about to quit playing because no one in his school orchestra looked like him.
28"His mom said that when he came here, the pressure to play and compete was taken off and that it's a delight to now watch her son light up feeling a sense of worthiness," she said.
29Dickerson said he started the Los Angeles orchestra when a group of students told him they wanted to play closer to where they live.
30"They would have to drive long distances to be in these orchestras where they didn't know the other kids," he said.
31"The young kids from our communities were always put in the back row and the back row was right next to the door."
32"It's easy to walk out that door," he added, "when you don't really feel accepted and when you know you're probably not as skilled as the others."
33He added that those other students usually had more music lessons and started playing at a younger age.
34Dickerson said the Black Church has at times been the only place the African American community could organize services they needed, such as banks and newspapers.
35"If we can come together in the church and create a symphonic orchestra, all I can say is all praise to God," he added.
36I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Anna Matteo.