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Grants at Work - Dennis Yarmouth Music Department

Strengthening the Dennis-Yarmouth Music Program AFCC Grants at Work

hen nearly 30 percent of your students come from an economically disadvantaged background, private music lessons aren’t typically an option. They This past year’s extra voice lessons, partially funded through the AFCC grant, did even more than that. “It helped me build my confidence, not only in my singing voice, but in wanting to W Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Chair Alex Pendleton, String Orchestra Director Kerry Cutler, Choral Music Director Stephanie Riley, and Band Director Raymond Castano. are a luxury. audition for music festivals,” Butcher said, earning her a spot in That is exactly the predicament that the Dennis-Yarmouth the All-Cape Music Festival.

Regional High School Music Department found themselves in this She plans on honing her vocal skills over the next two years so past year. So their choral music director, Stephanie Riley, applied she can continue to sing once she moves on to college. for and successfully received a $2,400 grant from the AFCC to As for Riley, she is appreciative of the AFCC’s support for help fill this void. students like Butcher. “Knowing there’s an organization like

“If you don’t have private and group instruction, it holds you the AFCC in our own backyard willing to back up our kids is back,” Riley said. phenomenal,” she said.

The AFCC’s support enabled the high school to remove this Riley also knows that it has helped shine a light on the pockets obstacle for over 200 students in eighth through twelfth grades, of poverty that exist on Cape Cod which necessitate the need for providing them with private and small group music instruction on outside funding such as this. a weekly basis this past year. “I was very fortunate. I grew up in New York state,” she said.

“It’s been a huge difference for us,” Riley said. “For example, “They have private lessons in band, orchestra, and chorus once a vocally, we had a larger number of students audition and qualify week all the way through high school. In Massachusetts, students for festival ensembles this year.” don’t get that opportunity past seventh grade.”

Patricia Butcher, a soon-to-be junior, is one such student. A Why is this type of instruction important? “Music is huge member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, she has spent the past in keeping kids engaged and it exercises both parts of the brain three years singing as a means of expression. “I feel like music simultaneously,” Riley explained. “It’s linked to improving scores allows me to express things which I really can’t do in history or in math and science. And it gives students an outlet when they’re math. It’s a nice outlet for me,” she said, noting that during times so stressed out. It also gives them that little chance to be creative.” when she is experiencing a range of emotions such as anger or sadness, “I’ll play my piano or start singing, and it kind of calms me down.”

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