A music program providing violin lessons to West Side children in the city's under-served population has received a grant from the Community Foundation of Buffalo. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says Buffalo Strings Works is the recipient of a $20,000 grant.
Students in the afterschool program gather at the Concerned Ecumenical Ministry Building on Lafayette Avenue for their violin lessons.
Last December we visited the program where about 28 children were participating. But now program leader Virginia Barron, classical host on our sister station WNED-FM, said this $20,000 grant is a major boost for this music program and they will be growing to 50-students.
“And it’s going to allow us to hire more teachers and to buy some more violins. We are dependable now. We’ve been going at it and very committed to bringing this program to the kids and we’ve been taking them to all sorts of outreach programs. We’ve got a lot of publicity and a lot of people are signing on and donating instruments to us and wanting to know how they could help, so having the Buffalo Community Foundation say ‘okay, we’ll recognize that these folks are doing a job worth doing’ and we’re just so grateful to them,” explained Barron.
The program is now into its third year. What makes Buffalo Strings Works so unique is many of the children represent several different countries.
“And the kids come from – I think we have seven or eight different countries represented – Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Somalia and probably a few more,” Barron replied.
20 are from West Buffalo Charter School, ages 5 to10, other students are from International School 45 and soon 12-new students will be arriving.
“Three of them are going to be cellists. We got a wonderful gift from Sportsmen America Foundation last year to buy two cellos,” Barron said.
There is now a waiting list for at least 35-more students.
“We’re packed. We’re at capacity, which is a great place to be, and I think they see, both to learn music, and the benefits that it can do. There are so many studies about learning language and learning music that can really help both disciplines and just the social aspect of it, and we’re also trying now, this year, to include a lot of folk songs from everyone’s countries. So we have a Nepali folk song and a Karen folk song and a wonderful Somalian dance. We’re doing more of that now to incorporate some of the western songs, but also songs from their various countries,” Barron said.
Barron noted running a violin program is an expensive operations. Buffalo Strings Works is free of charge to the students.
