The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Here is how you attract African-American and Latino students to classical music.

By Jacob Stockinger

Attracting African-American and Latino students – and audiences – to classical music has been a difficult problem across the nation for a long time.

But thanks to Project STEP in Boston, which started in 1982 and is run through the Boston Symphony Orchestra, progress is being made. STEP recruits children from kindergarten and trains them through graduation from high school. Full parental involvement is required.

In Madison, groups such as the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) and Madison Music Makers, as well as the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, have tackled the same problem.

Perhaps the Boston program — which was recently featured on the PBS NewsHour — holds clues to a successful outcome. It certainly is inspiring to see and hear Project STEP’s success stories. 

Here is a YouTube link to the story: