OUR MISSION

Project 440’s mission is to teach young people how to use music as a pathway to forge opportunities for themselves and ignite change in their communities.

OUR VISION

Project 440 is a supportive and inclusive community where youth find their way, ignite their creativity, envision their future, and discover the joy of service.

WHY WE'RE PROJECT 440

440 = 440 Hz = the pitch "A," the same "A" used to tune the orchestra, usually by the oboe. Just like that note is the first pitch heard at every symphonic concert, so we want the young musicians we work with to be leaders in their communities through music.

our history

Musicians Joseph Conyers, Blake Espy, and Catharine Gerheiser founded Project 440 in Savannah, Georgia, in 2007 to provide greater access to live performances and music education after the Savannah Symphony Orchestra disbanded. The organization originally focused on presenting community engagement concerts and workshops. In 2010, Joseph Conyers was named Assistant Principal Bass of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Project 440 also moved to Philadelphia.

In 2015, the School District of Philadelphia appointed Joseph the Music Director of The All-City Orchestra, where he gained a clearer understanding of the many challenges faced by Philadelphia’s students and educators both inside and outside of the classroom. As Joseph took on his new role, Project 440 began evolving to better meet the needs of Philadelphia’s chronically underserved students.

 The 2015–2016 school year marked a turning point for Project 440. Equipped with a better understanding of the needs of the community and with input from teachers, students, parents and school administrators, the organization engaged in two years of research and program development. Following this intensive period, Project 440’s leadership, teaching artists, and program committee were able to build upon the foundational service model and launch our core creative youth development programs, Doing Good and Instruments for Success, in the 2017–2018 school year. In 2020, we added the Youth Advocacy Council to our core programing.