MYCincinnati, located in Cincinnati’s Price Hill neighborhood, has a mission to use ensemble-based music as a vehicle for youth development and community engagement by providing children with access to free, intense, high-quality music education. At MYCincinnati, every child is a main character, where the staff, faculty and community are dedicated to the personal and musical growth of each child.
Coltan and Aleesia entered the program at the same time, Coltan as a Winds Teaching-Artist and Aleesia as a beginning music student. The supportive and inclusive community at MYCincinnati embraced them right away. It was apparent that the role of teacher and student was not strictly divided at MYCincinnati. In Venezuela there is a saying: "If you know five notes, teach someone who only knows four." MYCincinnati is founded on the principles of Venezuela’s El-Sistema model of music education, and consistently offers opportunities for students to provide constructive feedback to one another, guide each other through new topics, and sometimes even to teach the class for periods of time.
This practice is formalized in the Apprentice Program. Aleesia became an Apprentice at the beginning of her second year. Apprentices are paid an hourly rate, and receive mentorship from faculty to teach classes and individual lessons, participate in professional development training, and to reflect on their progress as educators. Aleesia learned that to be an effective educator she had to adjust her teaching to each student’s individual needs. Coltan found the teaching observations and reflection periods with the Apprentices to be particularly insightful. They demonstrated through their teaching what had worked for them in their music lessons with him and other teachers. The Apprentices bridge the gap between student and teacher, and embody the holistic, community based approach to music education that is at the heart of MYCincinnati.
MYCincinnati’s focus on equity and inclusion is demonstrated by their student centered approach to learning. Music builds community, and the faculty, students, families and friends of the program continue to prove their dedication to the mission of bringing more music and more harmony to Price Hill.