Should we speak in terms of accomplishments, of impacts made and goals achieved? In the past year, The Music Settlement has built upon the momentum that began with the completion of our strategic plan. In the four areas identified in the plan as action steps, we stayed on timeline and produced significant results that reinforce our commitment to the plan as a living document that does not gather dust on the shelf. Highlights of the plan include comprehensive governance reform spearheaded by the Board’s Governance Committee, full-scale rebranding efforts impacting every aspect of our internal and external message, and ongoing facility evaluation that will result in a master plan for the campus going forward. Our strategic plan is truly our roadmap for the future that guides us every day, in everything we do.
Should we cite our operational achievements in the face of overwhelming challenges? While the numbers from the just-completed year are not yet complete, the picture that emerges is truly laudable. We finished 2009 with our earned revenues higher than in 2008, despite the unprecedented economic downturn, and we appear to be headed towards a break-even bottom line. This was accomplished while protecting the current employee base, preserving benefits and wages at the 2008 level, and keeping programs and offerings at the levels originally planned. No matter how you look at it, this is a major victory for the organization in a time when many of our peers have suffered deep cuts, program terminations, and layoffs.
Or perhaps we should let others speak for our record in the past year. We were nominated for an Award of Achievement by Northern Ohio Live for our fundraising event, Diaspora of the Drum featuring Savion Glover, and we received the highest level of award and certification from Step Up to Quality, Ohio’s voluntary rating system for child care programs licensed by the state’s Department of Job and Family Services. Our Director of Music Therapy, Ronna Kaplan, became President-Elect of the National Music Therapy Association, and several members of her staff were honored with offices, publications and awards for their outstanding work. Our brand-new Jazz and American Music Program in the Department of Music earned acceptance as a member of the Berklee College of Music’s prestigious City Music Network. These and many other examples remind us of the value placed on The Music Settlement by our community and by the country.
I think the best measure of our efforts in 2009, though, is not in accolades, dollars, or our own hard work; it’s found in how we impact the lives of those who seek us out.
Over the past year, I have challenged the staff, faculty, and therapists of The Music Settlement to define our philosophy of education - what principles overarch our efforts in every educational department and what guides our decisions as administrators. Here is the result:
At The Music Settlement, we believe in people – in who they are and in who they can become. We believe the arts enrich you, your family, and your community. Every day at The Music Settlement, we make a difference throughout Cleveland and Northeast Ohio…. because we believe.
These are not just words - this is what we do. They are a charge and a pledge. Simple and to the point, this statement frames what we do today, tomorrow, and into the future, echoing throughout our history and resonating as we move forward. Let me illustrate with a few of our stories.
The past: Many of you were thrilled and moved by the recently released film, The Soloist, which tells the heart-rending story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted artist who studied at The Music Settlement in the 1960’s before the onset of mental illness drove him into a life of homelessness and pain from which music seemed to be his only release. The film briefly touched upon Nathaniel’s relationship with his instructor at The Music Settlement, Harry Barnoff. Harry’s long career as an instructor here was defined not only by his outstanding musicianship and pedagogy, but by his commitment to mentoring those who studied with him. Harry cared about Nathaniel the person, and made every effort to guide his fragile student to choices that would best suit him, even if for Nathaniel it meant foregoing study at the prestigious Julliard School. The heartbreak of the story is deepened by Nathaniel’s disregard for the guidance Harry offered, but their shared history did not stop there. To this day, Harry stays in contact with Nathaniel, offering an open ear to a man half a continent away whose greatest need beyond musical accomplishment is a caring heart. Harry’s true legacy is measured not by his artistic talent, but by his belief in his fellow man.
The present: There are many examples I can give you of the difference we are making right now in the lives of young people, but let me focus on just a few that represent the breadth of our efforts.
Jonathan Thomas is a relatively new student at The Music Settlement. He started out as a member of the Settlement Jazz Orchestra a couple of years ago. A keyboardist with talent that belies his 16 years, Jonathan was recognized early on for his musical gifts. But he also had the opportunity at The Music Settlement to grow both in responsibility and in his world view. He was awarded a full scholarship to the first year of the Jazz @ The Settlement summer program last year. He continued to study with instructors Eric Gould and Jackie Warren throughout the school year and has spent this summer as a Department of Music intern and accompanist for the summer Jazz @ The Settlement (JAMS)/ ArtWorks vocal ensemble. His achievement reached a new high when he was invited to be one of two Music Settlement students to attend the five-week Berklee College of Music’s Summer Performance Program in Boston. This provides him with the tuition for this unique program in which he will be immersed with 900 other students from around the world, participating in intensive music studies with first-class faculty at one of the premiere collegiate music programs in the world.
Elias (Eli) Manos first came to The Music Settlement five years ago, after having received music therapy services provided by Ronna Kaplan, Director of The Settlement’s Department of Music Therapy in his preschool classroom. Through music therapy intervention, he has worked on social skills and self-expression, both individually and in small group settings, with Lori Lundeen Smith, Assistant Director of the Department of Music Therapy, as well as with other department therapists. From the first day he came to the Settlement, Eli, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has worked hard to refine his outstanding musical gifts, both as a performer and as a composer. After a year of music therapy, he began to study with Music Settlement theory and composition instructor Chris Auerbach-Brown, and is now working on a composition for symphony orchestra. Eli also studies classical guitar at The Music Settlement with Jon Fitzgerald, and was a Settlement Music Builders camper for four consecutive summers. Although he is only 13, he is already a veteran musician who performs regularly and builds connections through his efforts. Truly a musician with diverse interests, he and a friend from Music Builders Camp meet to jam in “garage band” rock style in Lori Smith’s music therapy studio. He is the accompanist for the Singing Angels of Greater Cleveland’s Junior Chorus, a group of children and young adults from across the area, and is playing keyboard in the pit band for Fairmount Theatre’s summer production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. This summer, Eli also participated in our Jazz Summer Camp which, like many of The Music Settlement’s programs, encourages inclusion of students with special needs into general programming. He worked alongside other young musicians and, as the keyboard player, often carried the core of the melody for the ensemble. As he has done in the past, Eli displayed outstanding musicianship and interaction with the group, and was accepted as one of the stars of the program by all who participated.
Yanka Chanenka, aged 22, has been a part of the Early Childhood (EC) Department since he was four years old. He participated in Music Builders, The Music Settlement’s venerable summer arts enrichment camp, for eight years. During that time he learned to play the violin, piano, and bandura (a harp-like instrument). He also studied ballet and excelled academically throughout lower and upper school, graduating with a 3.74 grade point average and receiving a four-year Presidential Scholarship to Loyola College in Maryland. That alone would be an impressive record, vividly reflecting the outstanding boost our EC program gives its students. But there’s more. Throughout his 22 years, Yanka felt it important to give back to The Music Settlement by working to ensure that more of our very young got off to the same great start as he did. For eight of the last 11 years, Yanka has come back to The Music Settlement to work as a summer camp counselor. By the end of this summer he will have worked in four different camps, including the department of Music Therapy’s adult development Musical Theatre Camp. Additionally, he has spent more than five years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Yanka will tell you that The Music Settlement has given him an intellectual gift as well as a musical gift throughout his many years on our campus. I would add that he has developed an altruistic gift as well - that of giving much more than you get.
The Future: Jonathan, Eli, Yanka, and thousands of others over the past 97 years represent the future at The Music Settlement. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to impacting the whole person, family, and community by offering more than just a quality lesson or session. We will also continue to reach out to all who can benefit from our commitment, not just to those who can afford it. We will seek to partner with organizations, centers, and individuals who can help us reach those with the greatest need, who can supplement and enhance our strengths and match our commitment and principles. We will endeavor to continuously improve our campus, facilities, and programming to best serve the needs and interests of our community. We will talk to you, listen to you, and work with you. We will not be quiet, we will not be timid, and we will not let you down.
We believe.
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