What do shoes and violins have in common?

By Andrea Cassutt, Executive Director

Small feet, small hands and arms, and small bodies GROW. Children in our Elementary Strings program, an SFYSA program modeled after El Sistema and recipient of the 2010 Piñon Award for Excellence in Education, are small humans. To them a full-size violin can seem almost as big as a cello! Violins start at 1/16th the full-size for very young children, and those instruments are adorable!

While experts don’t agree how early it is best to start a child on a string instrument, they tend to agree that by around the age of 6 is ideal.

Once a child is ready, early stringmusic education is important for developing fine motor skills, important aspects of mental and emotional well-being, and setting the stage for a lifetime of learning.

Children enrolled in our Elementary Strings program all receive an instrument free of charge

And just like with their shoes, kids outgrow their violins. Especially after a summer of activity, which is when they grow most, a child can return to our Elementary Strings Program in need of a larger violin. Because we provide every child in this program with an instrument, they simply turn in their outgrown violin and start the year with one that fits them just right. Wouldn’t it be great if kids shoe stores did the same?

To make our Elementary Strings program and all of our programs accessible to students throughout the community, we offer sliding scale tuition and financial assistance. SFYSA is committed to including all interested students in our programs regardless of ability to pay tuition. We have just launched our Matching Funds for Young Musicians on-line fundraiser! Please visit our YouCaring fundraiser, to learn more and make a donation to support our Elementary Strings program, provide instruments, and contribute to scholarships! An anonymous donor will match all donations up to $5,000.