For the past 25 years, CCMS has been offering offsite, tuition-free Music in the Community Initiative (MICI) programs that align with our mission of providing musical experiences and expressive art therapy for all ages and abilities.
Background:
The seeds of MICI programming goes back as far as CCMS’s founding. Since its inception, CCMS has emphasized that it is not a building; rather, it is a community of diverse people. In its first year of operation, CCMS partnered with Merrimack Valley Day Care to provide early childhood education to poor, underserved, and destitute children: a relationship that continues to this day. And from its early years, CCMS envisioned a true partnership with area service agencies where both contributed resources. Each of CCMS’s three capital campaigns to date has had a strong offsite programming/outreach component and each time, the School’s supporters have responded generously.
Formally conceived in 1995-’96 during a major collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), MICI was both a response to the many requests for a wide variety of CCMS programs beyond its bricks-and-mortar facility and an answer to the challenge of serving other sectors of the Granite State in a meaningful way. Thoughtful choices were made about the necessary staffing and funding which would be needed before CCMS went “beyond the walls.” After beginning its second capital campaign in the late 1990s, CCMS conducted a pilot MICI program in FY98 at a cost of approximately $100,000 per year. Through thoughtful planning, logistics, and management, MICI operates on a similar budget today.
Programming:
While evolving with the times, MICI remains true to its 1998 mission and goals of structural innovation, geographic reach, depth of programming, and breadth of recipients.
MICI currently comprises the following programs to those in the Greater Concord community and beyond:
- Music and Movement Classes (Young Children) are offered weekly by our licensed Movement and Dance Therapists at multiple sites serving vulnerable children suffering from trauma, language delays, impaired communication and play skills, and early disabilities, as well as social, emotional, and behavioral issues.
- Movement and Song for Memory and Mobility (Older Adults), also offered by our licensed Movement and Dance Therapist, is designed to support and enhance memory and mobility.
- Sunflower Sing-Alongs bring adults with developmental disabilities and brain injuries together with their care providers to sing with a Certified Music Practitioner.
- Disabled/At-Risk Veterans. Where our licensed music therapist uses music interventions at the New Hampshire Veterans Home to promote health, enhance quality of life, and improve functioning.
- Expanding Horizons Adolescent Group, led by a licensed and qualified therapist, focuses on creating a safe space in which to explore feelings of anxiety, identity, and expression.
- Group Drumming Classes at the Concord YMCA with one of CCMS’s percussion faculty members for no additional charge to the students.
These programs served 552 participants in FY24 and we expect to increase this number modestly in FY25. The majority of MICI programs are conducted in the Greater Concord area and surrounding communities.
Funded through the Generosity of Grantors and Donors:
CCMS provides MICI faculty (teaching artists and movement therapists), musical instruments, transportation, and an administrative coordinator. Our partner agencies pay what they can (some pay nothing), which helps offset CCMS’s program costs. These agencies receive a significant value, as the sums they contribute are far less than the fair market value of the classes. As most MICI participants are in very low-income brackets, there is no charge to any of the participating students/families. For this reason, we rely on the generosity of our sponsors, individual donors, and institutions to help keep MICI viable.
How you can help:
For more information on partnering with CCMS to benefit the Greater Concord community, please contact us at reception [@] ccmusicschool.org or 603-228-1196.
To donate to CCMS in support of MICI, please contact lsabean [@] ccmusicschool.org or 603-228-1196, x-106.