RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Papitto Opportunity Connection Announcement

See Below for Photos from our Press Conference on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at

Agnes E. Little Elementary School in Pawtucket

Four-Year Partnership uses music education to bridge Opportunity and Achievement Gaps for children of color and seeks to increase diversity and representation in symphonic music

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School has received major support from the Papitto Opportunity Connection to expand its commitment to equity across the Ocean State and beyond. The 4-year partnership will allow the Philharmonic to dramatically expand its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Financial support from the Papitto Opportunity Connection, coupled with ongoing support from existing funders, has allowed the RI Phil to devote more than 22% of its budget to this work. The funds support two key goals of the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School: improve access to high quality music education for children of color that bridges critical opportunity and achievement gaps; ensure that the RI Philharmonic organization properly represents and is connected to the diverse communities it serves. Full details were shared at a Press Conference on Tuesday, June 21st at Agnes E. Little Elementary School in Pawtucket featuring special guests Barbara Papitto, founder and trustee of the Papitto Opportunity Connection and Pawtucket School District Superintendent Dr. Cheryl McWilliams.

Funds to bridge opportunity gaps will support increased Financial Aid for the RI Philharmonic Music School, expanded access to the Philharmonic’s Link Up education program, which serves elementary students throughout the region – and the expansion of the groundbreaking Victoria’s Dream Project (VDP) to a second elementary school in Pawtucket. The RI Phil is also launching a research study into the effects of Link Up and VDP on participating Pawtucket School District students. Brown University’s Urban Education Policy Program Director Dr. Kenneth Wong will lead the independent 4-year study to track the musical, academic, and social-emotional growth of participating students, and determine if the program helps narrow systemic achievement gaps for children of color in Rhode Island and elsewhere.

In order to better represent and connect with the communities it serves, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra is programming more works by composers of color, increasing diversity on its stages and making its performances accessible to more individuals and communities through livestreaming, neighborhood concerts, a first-of-its kind mobile concert screen, and other innovative initiatives.

Overview of Four-Year Plan Goals with the Papitto Opportunity Connection:

• Expand participation in *Link Up education concerts and music literacy curricula
• Expand **Victoria’s Dream Project
• Increase Financial Aid for students
• Program and commission more works by BIPOC composers
• Hire more BIPOC guest artists and conductors
• Hire more BIPOC Orchestra subs and extras
• Hire more BIPOC faculty and staff
• Livestream concerts to underserved communities
• Give more free Community Concerts
• Deploy the RI Phil’s mobile concert hall to bring the Orchestra to new audiences
• Partner with Brown University to conduct a rigorous study to determine the effects of music education on the well-documented achievement gap for Black and Latinx students.

Together with the Papitto Opportunity Connection, the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School will both establish new models and incorporate existing best practices to make sure every child in Rhode Island has access to a music education, every child and adult can access live symphonic performances, and every person feels represented on its stages and served by its school.

The RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School looks forward to experiencing the results of this exciting new partnership, to more fully harnessing music’s power to inspire, transform and educate in a way that benefits all, and to further positive, lasting change in society.

Link Up

*Link Up is a music literacy program designed by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute that unites the classroom with the concert hall. It helps close the music learning opportunity gap, giving students in grades 3–5 the opportunity to explore music through a yearlong curriculum of classroom activities and a culminating concert in which students perform with a professional orchestra.

• Through Link Up, the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School supports music education programs and teachers in elementary schools by providing high quality curricula, resources, professional development, and other support to ensure that students engage in a meaningful musical experience andgain a lifelong literacy in, and appreciation for, music.
• Link Up participation is entirely voluntary. Despite a total lack of public policy support or public funding, it is incredibly popular with teachers and students in Rhode Island.
• Annual participation has included as many as 12,000 students in 100 elementary schools.
• The RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School has worked with as many as 60 Title I-designated elementary schools – which serve a majority of students who live in areas with concentrated poverty – in a single year. This equals 50% of all Title I schools in Rhode Island.
• Over 10 years, The RI Philharmonic Music School has provided Link Up to more than 34,000 3rd, 4th and 5th graders throughout the region with a 3-year program of learning—encouraging a lifetime love of music and playing.

Victoria’s Dream Project (VDP)

**Victoria’s Dream Project (VDP) is a performance-based string instruction program for students in grades 3–5 at the Agnes Little Elementary School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. VDP provides students with an immersive experience that supports creative, academic and personal growth, and encourages future accomplishments.

Agnes Little is a Title I school located in a community with concentrated poverty whose students experience significant opportunity gaps. Families and teachers wanted to bridge these gaps for their students. The RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School wanted to help the community reach those goals and expand representative diversity in its ensembles. Together, they built a pathway.

Designed by a diverse team of stakeholders, the VDP provides students the following at no charge:

• A free string instrument
• After-school academic support and food
• A pathway to attend the RI Phil Music School
• After-school music instruction 3 days per-week
• Community engagement activities
• Interaction with RI Philharmonic Orchestra members, guests and concerts

The pathway includes full scholarships for Music School lessons and ensembles, and a free instrument to use through the 12th grade. The program’s stated goals are to nurture musical, social-emotional and academic growth. VDP students are largely BIPOC, with the first three cohorts being (on average) 32% Hispanic/Latinx, 29% African American, 26% multiracial, 9% white, and 4% American Indian/Alaska Native. Over 85 students have participated in the project, with a new cohort of 3rd graders beginning each year alongside older students and alumni.

Quotes

“The commitment by the RI Phil to combat historic inequities relating to music education for students of color is both needed and doable,” said John A. Tarantino, managing trustee of the Papitto Opportunity Connection. “The program the RI Phil has developed will increase music school financial aid, allow the RI Phil to hire more artists of color, diversify its repertoire and audience and bring the RI Phil to more communities of color. Combined, these efforts are aligned with the Papitto Opportunity Connection’s mission to promote and support programs designed around equity and diversity.”

John A. Tarantino Photo: Papitto Opportunity Connection

Ting Barnard, dual Board Member of the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School and the Papitto Opportunity Connection, celebrates this momentous development. “Music brings people together – it is a unifying agent that connects different cultural and socio-economic groups.” She continues, “Music education at an early age is an opportunity to arrange and rearrange how one perceives the world – without it, one would lack perspective and context.”

Ting Barnard Photo: Ian Barnard

Brown University’s Urban Education Policy Program Director Dr. Kenneth Wong is leading the research study for this partnership. Dr. Wong describes the significance of this work, “In investing in high-needs urban schools with diverse student population, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School aims to disrupt systemic inequality. The RI Phil aspires to close a pervasive opportunity gap in both music and general education in urban communities. I am excited about our research partnership with the RI Phil and the Pawtucket School District to collect and analyze data on student growth over the next several years. Evidence-based lessons will enable the project to scale up in Rhode Island and beyond.”

Kenneth Wong Photo: Brown University Watson Institute

Pawtucket School District Superintendent Dr. Cheryl McWilliams says, "As a former Pawtucket music teacher, I believe there are many benefits to studying and playing music. For the past 6 years, students at Agnes Little Elementary School have had the privilege of learning from the RI Philharmonic. I am thrilled the RI Phil’s Victoria’s Dream Project is expanding to provide more opportunities for students in Pawtucket."

Dr. Cheryl McWilliams Photo: Andrew Lagace

Sharon Alviti, Founder and President of the Victoria Alviti Music Foundation. Sharon, mother of Victoria Alviti, namesake of Victoria’s Dream Project, says, “Victoria started loving music in elementary school where she was introduced to the recorder and eventually the violin. As she grew so did her love for music. She started playing the piano and even won some competitions. Eventually she became a well-known DJ and traveled the country spreading her positivity and her love of music. Victoria felt every student regardless of their economic background should have the opportunity to experience the positive impact music can have in their life. Today Victoria’s dream is a reality. Victoria’s Dream Project is changing lives one note at a time. I am thrilled to see this program expand into a new school thanks to the generous support of the Papitto Opportunity Connection.”

Sharon Alviti Photo: Courtesy of Sharon Alviti

RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School’s Executive Director David Beauchesne says, “We are extremely grateful to Barbara Papitto, John Tarantino, Ed Pieroni, and the Papitto Opportunity Connection for this extraordinary contribution to support initiatives through the Orchestra and School that promote access, equity, diversity, and representation. We intend for our partnership with POC to be transformative for our organization, for our community, and for the lives of the individuals these programs reach. We also intend for it to have a lasting impact on increased diversity in symphonic music and music education.”

David Beauchesne Photo: Rob Davidson Photography

RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School’s Senior Director of Education & Music School Annette Mozzoni exclaims, “We are thrilled for the wonderful, transformative educational and professional opportunities this partnership will produce for generations to come, paving the way for an equitable education for every student.” Annette Mozzoni Photo: Rob Davidson Photography

RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School’s Principal Conductor & Artistic Director Bramwell Tovey says, “I am greatly excited for the empowering aspects and powerful impact of this incredible partnership for students, artists, conductors and composers for many years to come. It will be truly life-changing and beneficial, creating positive changes towards a diverse and bright future for our community.” Bramwell Tovey Photo: Tyler Boye

The Papitto Opportunity Connection (POC) is a non-profit private foundation dedicated to listening and working together with Rhode Island’s Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to empower and create individual success stories by investing in education, job skills training and entrepreneurial ventures. Making connections, eliminating barriers to success, and clearing pathways to learning are the guiding lights behind every investment POC makes. To truly matter, make an impact, and help create systemic change, the programs we support are those most needed and wanted by Rhode Island’s BIPOC communities. Learn more at: https://pocfoundation.com