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| Phoenix Conservatory of Music named as an Arizona State Charitable Tax Credit Organization, Phoenix Conservatory of Music’s College Prep Program serving the Phoenix Metropolitan Area cited as one of the best creative youth development programs in the country and wins a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, and Phoenix Conservatory of Music Wins Mayor’s Arts Award! |
Will Kratzenberg, a sophomore in High School and PCM student says. “[I started with piano and then went to audio production.] I had no place to go for sound production or learn how to build or reconstruct sound. PCM showed me how to work inside sound production DAWs and how to mix and even create my own songs. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be all that great…all these people doing what I’m doing. If anything, that is the key to learning- learning what people are doing around you, learning from them and taking some of their knowledge into your own. I feel a sense of family here. Coming here is an escape and you can really improve your skills being here and learning with your family. [As a family] we are being able to build what we’ve been trying to build for a very long time. [As an organization], we finally made it up there, and after all these years …it’s finally paying off.”
And this is the absolute truth. This has been an incredible year for Phoenix Conservatory of Music, a Phoenix based nonprofit community school of music with a very big reach. “It often feels as if we are a very best kept secret”, says Regina Nixon, Executive Director of Phoenix Conservatory of Music, ”but we have amazing stories with all of our students and some fantastic outcomes.”
This past November, at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. this November, the nation’s top cultural agencies honored twelve Creative Youth Development programs from across the country for their work in providing excellent arts and humanities learning opportunities to young people. Three of Phoenix’s own students had the honor of traveling to our Nation’s Capital to represent Phoenix, Arizona and a top after school arts program, Phoenix Conservatory of Music’s College Prep Program. Marcus Wolf (17), Michael Rodriguez (15) and Lourde Childs (13) were the student representative and performers for The Phoenix Conservatory of Music as it was recognized with a 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. The award was presented by The National Endowment for the Arts and their partners. Michael and Lourde, the only two performers for this prestigious Washington D.C. awards ceremony, performed Man In The Mirror recorded by Michael Jackson, written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett; produced by Quincy Jones, and received a standing ovation. (Video of the performance: https://youtu.be/QXC2YNMWLVQ?t=30m35s )
The award honors the nation’s highest best programs for after school arts and humanities programs. Chosen from 350 nominations from across the country, PCM, was one of twelve organizations across the country to receive the honor, which recognizes effectiveness in promoting learning and life skills in young people by engaging them through creative youth development programs.
“Phoenix is home to an incredible arts community, and organizations like the Phoenix Conservatory of Music are key to the city’s cultural vibrancy,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “This award is testament to the great work PCM is doing to expose children in our community to the arts and music education.”
The award is the latest recognition to highlight the Conservatory’s work with students. Earlier this year, Phoenix Conservatory of Music was a recipient of the 2017 Mayor’s Arts Awards for Innovative Organization of the Year, and in 2015 received the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Education Organization. In addition to all of the accolades, there are the direct outcomes of the program- a 95% High School Graduation Rate, 71% attend college or university, and in the last 7 years, they have earned over $1M+ in addition to scholarship offers.
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Source: Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) - Blog
