Project STEP
Feasibility Study for Consortium for Classical Music Training
WolfBrown was engaged by four music education organizations in Boston to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether and how they might embark on an initiative to provide advanced training for Black and Latinx classical musicians. The goal of the program was to see many of these students matriculating to post-secondary instrumental training institutions. The study was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and involved the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Community Music Center of Boston, the New England Conservatory, and Project STEP. The final report provided an analysis of Greater Boston demographics and music training organizations, a detailed program design (entitled the Boston Bridge to Equity and Achievement in Music initiative, or BEAM), as well as a support structure that included the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It also included a financial scenario and details for how the groups could work productively together.
In September, 2018, New England Conservatory, on behalf of BEAM, was the recipient of a $2.5 million implementation grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to begin implementation of the initiative.
Completed: 2018
Consultants: Thomas Wolf, Dennie Palmer Wolf, Jane Culbert, Stanford Thompson (Play on Philly), Jennifer Chang (Musician, Julliard graduate)
Category: Strategic Planning