Tune Up Philly Receives Donation from The D'Addario Foundation

Maestro Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization (PYO) and Delia Raab-Snyder, Director of PYO's Tune Up Philly announced today that The D'AdDario Foundation presented PYO's Tune Up Philly with a $2,000 grant in support of the El Sistema-inspired, after-school program. In addition to the grant, The D'AdDario Foundation also presented PYO's Tune Up Philly with an in-kind donation of instrument accessories valued at $750.

"We are delighted to receive financial and in-kind support from The D'AdDario Foundation, which is an organization the Tune Up Philly faculty and I admire for its dedication to music education," said Delia Raab-Snyder. "This money will go towards providing classical music education every day, after-school to elementary school students in North Philadelphia."

The grant will help fund Tune Up Philly's upcoming concert at Benjamin Franklin High School on Saturday, March 9th. The community concert is free and open to the public; a goodwill offering will be accepted at the door. All of the students in the program will perform under the direction of Ms. Raab-Snyder, Assistant Director Paul Smith and with ten Tune Up Philly professional teaching artists.

PYO's Tune Up Philly is inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema and is designed to nurture economically disadvantaged children through weekday, out-of-school hours, classical musical instruction. The program commenced in September 2010 at St. Francis De Sales School in southwest Philadelphia and began operating at the People for People Charter School in North Philadelphia in September 2011. Instructed by ten, professional, teachers and musicians, the students in PYO's Tune Up Philly train five days a week during the school year, with concentrations in woodwind, brass, strings and general music education.

The D'Addario Music Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to inspiring and assisting the growth and appreciation of music throughout the world by partnering with passionate music educators. Through the generous support of D'Addario and Company, the D'Addario Music Foundation awards grants and product donations to educational programs that offer sustained opportunities for active participation in music making particularly to those that might not otherwise have the opportunity.

The complete season schedule for all programs of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is available online at the PYO organization website. All concerts are open to the public; many are $10 general admission.

Founded in 1939, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization is one of the nation's oldest community music education and youth orchestra performance programs for gifted and talented students from the Tri-State region. Lead by Maestro Louis Scaglione, the organization's flagship ensemble, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), provides the most talented students with advanced orchestral training and performance opportunities throughout the concert season. PYO's companion ensembles include the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), formed in 1996; Bravo Brass, added to the program in 2003; and Philadelphia Region Youth String Music (PRYSM) created in 2007. Young musicians from ages six through 21 are selected by competitive audition and have represented the United States on five continents. The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization offers classical musical performances to the Greater Philadelphia region each year and supports musical education to children from Philadelphia's more vulnerable neighborhoods through its newest after-school program launched in 2010, Tune Up Philly.