Community Engagement Programs

CMCB’s flagship SCHOOL OUTREACH PROGRAM provides in-school instruction to students in a dozen schools throughout Boston. Instruction is usually once weekly for 20-30 weeks. Average class size is 20, and between 50 and 300 students participate at each site. Students pay no tuition or fees. An innovative co-teaching model in partnership with Music Therapy, facilitating trauma-informed learning, is proving to be a particularly successful model to replicate at scale.

The SATELLITE PROGRAM provides after-school instruction at venues like schools, community centers, or housing developments. Sites offer a range of general music, instrumental lessons, and group classes. In 2018-19, CMCB added three new sites and enrollment doubled to over 200 students. Satellite sites respond to a major barrier to access for students from disinvested communities: the burden of transportation to an arts organization’s central headquarters. 

The MUSIC THERAPY program at CMCB supports over 500 individuals weekly, in partnership with major social services agencies like Morgan Memorial Goodwill or Bay Cove Human Services. Music Therapy is the skillful use of music in the service of non-musical goals, like communication, socialization, and independent living.