Project 440’s Youth Advocacy Council (YAC) is starting this new school year with new members and fresh ideas! In addition, we are thrilled to welcome Melissa Wright who will be co-leading YAC with Teaching Artist, Samantha Apgar. A few of the members took the time to share their thoughts on YAC’s vision and how they hope to continue affecting positive change in our community using their passion for music.
What are some of the goals YAC is hoping to achieve this school year?
Maria Karakousis: Our overall aim is to apply training in leadership and advocacy to carry out the Project 440 mission of fostering equity and positive community change through the transformative power of music. We look forward to again working with organization officials, professional musicians, and other Philadelphia students passionate about using music to achieve the goals they envision for their communities. A very exciting goal for us this year is to greatly broaden the scope of our Music in Color audience! In its first year, this virtual series created and hosted by YAC members introduced Philadelphia youth to professional musicians of minority backgrounds who have advanced social change through their careers in classical music. YAC is now ready to take advantage of the virtual setting of Music in Color to reach a national audience that includes Project 440 alumni across the country. We hope to further increase interest and participation in our sessions through more diverse representation of music genres among our panelists.
What events are you planning in connection to your Music in Color series?
Ronnell Williams: This year we are going into how artists were affected through the pandemic. We are very excited to get started. :)
How would you like to see Project 440 better serve Philadelphia youth?
Patricia Harden: I would like to see Project 440 better serve Philadelphia youth by reaching out to the more underdeveloped areas of the city, for example the northern areas of Philly. It's a harsher place to be in and doesn't receive much attraction to and/or from organizations. Project 440 has done, and is still doing, a lot of great things, and I feel like it can extend to outside the comfort zone of the city and maybe in the suburbs and outskirts of our big city.
What are you most excited about this school year?
Rajveer Chaudhury: I am most excited about planning the Music in Color events for this year. This is my first year in YAC, and I am grateful to be able to help plan these events for our community in the coming year. I am also very excited about achieving musical growth this year in the program by helping plan these events, making new connections, and learning more about music specifically. Finally, I am most excited about growing as a leader and advocate in YAC this year.