The Iowa Makes Music Residency Draws to a Close

For the past three years From the Top has partnered with Orchestra Iowa (formerly Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra) to celebrate the excitement and joy of kids making classical music through Iowa Makes Music, a multi-faceted residency funded by the United States Department of Education.

Since the fall of 2008, the Iowa Makes Music (IMM) project has encompassed a number of live events and education programs. This included From the Top radio tapings in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Iowa City, Ames, and Cedar Falls, dozens of school visits led by Iowa teens, and classroom tools for Iowa teachers. A large part of the residency has also included the IMM Arts Leadership program, which has provided a yearly cohort of high school age classical musicians with intensive arts leadership training and one-on-one mentorship. Our aim has been to empower students to develop and lead their own arts leadership project in their home communities, and the resulting music outreach and community service has been overwhelming!

The Kennedy Quartet did music outreach in a local middle school.

As the long-term Iowa residency draws to a close, the IMM Arts Leadership program finished a fantastic spring of community service and music with a final celebration in Amana, Iowa. The 2011 arts leaders even braved tornadoes in the area to share their arts leadership journeys with friends and family! The evening was filled with food (including musically-inspired cupcakes), family, friends, and fantastic displays of each outreach project. In short, it was a perfect evening.

Music note cupcakes!

Check out this year’s projects on the Iowa Makes Music blog.

Congratulations to all for a fantastic spring, and for a wonderful three years!