Enriching Lives Through Music

Programs: After school- most of our students participate in our after school program where they study violin or cello and musicianship for two hours per day tuesday through thursday. In the afterschool program, the students hone their technical skills on their instrument while on saturdays, the focus is on ensemble playing. Our students are exceling on their instruments and are demonstrating strong social and emotional skills - focus, discipline, resilience and generosity. They are increasingly being asked to participate in county honor bands, youth symphony and other prestigious music groups. Starting in the fall of 2017 we will open a wind and brass site at another elementary schools - paralleling our string program. Students from all sites will join together on saturdays to participate in choir, orchestra and chamber groups.

saturday program- elm's largest program is our morning music school during which over 80 students ranging in age from 9 through 17 come for three hours every saturday from september through may, to study music technique, theory and participate in an ensemble. Our students are divided into three groups by age and level of ability. Each group rotates through three blocks. Our youngest students all sing in a choir and play either trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet or violin in sectionals and group ensembles. Our late elementary and middle school study their instrument in sectional or ensembles and our oldest students rehearse orchestral music during this time. We have an accomplished artistic faculty and active residency program. Our artistic director comes from the los angeles philharmonic to help select our repertoire and conduct our major concerts. We also have an active and engaged parent community who volunteer in many capacities and also study ukulele in the program. Our program is built upon an ensemble model and our repertoire is curated by our conductor/composer who arranges the music so that each of our students performs at his/her highest level.

summer camp- we continue elm's programs through out the summer during a five-week bi-weekly class program and a one-week, 6-hour per day, intensive chamber music camp. This past year we held the camp at the music department of the college of marin. After just one week, the students performed a high level concert of chamber music. Our other major summer activity included participation in a one-week national el sistema orchestra (take a stand) program at the aspen music festival. Selection was based on a highly competitive audition process. We have a scholarship program to send elm students to sleep away music camps.