Program To Expand To Five Musical Instruction Sites, Reaching 250 students In Underserved Atlanta Neighborhoods

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Music Project, a nonprofit providing intensive, tuition-free music education to students in underserved neighborhoods of Atlanta, embarks on its seventh year of programming for Atlanta’s underserved youth. Beginning September 6, 2016, AMP will serve 250 students at five program sites. AMP’s programs include: the AMP Orchestra; AMPlify, the choral program of the Atlanta Music Project; the AMP Academy, which provides advanced musical training to AMP’s most talented and dedicated students; and the AMP Summer Series, a music festival and school.

AMP has expanded from four musical instruction sites during the 2015-2016 school year to five sites for the 2016-2017 school year, with the addition of a symphony orchestra location at the Perkerson Recreation Center, serving middle and high school students. AMP students will perform more than 30 concerts throughout the year, kicking off this year’s concert season with a performance at Art on the Atlanta BeltLine on October 8, 2016.

For the duration of the 2016-2017 school year, AMP will receive funding from the Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. AMP was announced as a winner of a Carnegie Hall PlayUSA grant in July. This grant award will support the expansion of the AMP Academy from 45 students to 55 students. The grant also supports the establishment of AMP’s third orchestra site at the Perkerson Recreation Center and provides resources for professional development and training for AMP’s teaching artists.

The success and steady growth of its programs is due in large part to AMP’s strong community partnerships. The upcoming year will mark the seventh year of a partnership with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, which currently hosts three AMP Orchestra sites in City of Atlanta Recreation Centers: the Historic Gilbert House, the South Bend Center for Art and Culture and the Perkerson Recreation Center. AMPlify, the choral program of AMP, continues its partnership with The Kindezi Schools West Lake for the second year. The Kindezi Schools West Lake is the flagship site for the AMPlify program and offers piano, drums and guitar instruction in addition to its foundational choral training. AMP also continues its partnership with Clayton State University to provide college scholarships to qualifying AMP students with its establishment of the Atlanta Music Project Endowed Scholarships in the spring of 2015.

The AMP Summer Series will return for its second edition in June of 2017. A three-week summer music festival and school based in the neighborhoods AMP serves, the AMP Summer Series includes a summer music camp for 150 experienced middle and high school music students and evening performances with special guest artists and AMP faculty.

AMP will maximize its impact on Atlanta’s underserved neighborhoods by establishing a headquarters with performance and rehearsal space, classrooms, offices and storage, to be located in one of the communities AMP serves south of Interstate 20. This AMP Headquarters will become the center of a flourishing arts community that contributes to the social, artistic and economic fabric of the neighborhoods that need it most.

About the Atlanta Music Project

Founded in 2010, the Atlanta Music Project provides intensive, tuition-free music education for underserved youth right in their neighborhood. Now in its seventh year of programming and serving 250 students at five sites, AMP provides all its students with an instrument, a teaching artist, classes and numerous public performance opportunities. AMP does not hold entrance auditions – the only requirement is a commitment to attending all classes. AMP’s programs include: the AMP Orchestra; AMPlify, the choral program of the Atlanta Music Project; the AMP Academy, which provides advanced musical training to AMP’s most talented and dedicated students; and the AMP Summer Series, a music festival and school. AMP’s young artists have performed at Atlanta’s most prestigious venues, including the Woodruff Arts Center, Spivey Hall, and the Rialto Center for the Arts. In 2015 Clayton State University established the Atlanta Music Project Endowed Scholarships, providing scholarship funds for AMP students choosing to attend Clayton State as music majors and music minors. For more information visit www.atlantamusicproject.org.

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