Since 2015, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation (PMAFF) has been a proud supporter of the Broadway School of Music & the Arts (BSMA). PMAFF funding has enabled BSMA to increase onsite student private lesson enrollment, create new participatory music education opportunities, and engage over 150 low income and homeless citizens through its Musical Meals program.
The Broadway School of Music & the Arts has its roots in Broadway-Slavic Village, a diverse Cleveland neighborhood edging the industrial valley just southeast of downtown, where close to 80% of school-age children attend Cleveland public schools, 30% of residents lack a high school degree, and 28% are unemployed. Housed in a historic former music conservatory, for 38 years BSMA has remained committed to enriching lives by providing access to high quality, diverse arts and music instruction and programming. BSMA provides these services to all individuals regardless of age, race, religion, level of ability, or financial means.
Last year, 2,075 individuals directly benefited from BSMA’s programs, including 1,095 youth. To keep its onsite private lessons affordable BSMA has provided over $111,000 in tuition assistance over the past 20 years. Close to half of students receive such assistance covering up to 95% of their tuition, and sometimes a loaned instrument as well. BSMA has also reduced financial barriers to participation in it onsite youth drum corps, which costs just $10 per year.
Over the past decade, in response to dramatic changes in the demographics of the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood and the needs of its residents, BSMA has transformed its focus to engaging underserved urban residents in high quality arts and music education programs through partnerships with 22 community-serving organizations across Cleveland. By taking more of its programming into the community, it has increased access to arts participation, particularly to underserved children, its primary audience.
All of BSMA’s offsite programs are free to participants, and include after-school and summer visual art, dance and music classes, and older adult storytelling and watercolor classes. Its pre-K Eurhythmics and visual art program helps young children develop not only musically and artistically, but also build literacy, math and social skills, imagination and physical dexterity. The Musical Meals program provides music by top-notch Cleveland musicians once a month at a free community dinner at a nearby hunger center.
For more information on the Broadway School of Music & the Arts, visit www.broadwayschool.org
