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ESYO Receives $20,000 Dollar Grant from the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Private Foundation to Support CHIME Program

IMG 3815(Schenectady, NY) – The Empire State Youth Orchestra has received a significant grant of $20,000 thanks to the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Private Foundation. The generous contribution was awarded to the organization to help support the growth of CHIME (Creating Harmony Inspiring Musical Excellence) by providing funds for additional teaching artists. It was recently announced by ESYO that the CHIME program has expanded to four program sites across two cities, serving more than 120 children, all within a three-year time frame. CHIME operates daily throughout the school year, providing children in underserved communities with two to three hours of free music instruction and rehearsal each afternoon. Additionally, the program operates for four weeks each summer.

This Foundation, which is locally based, has supported CHIME since its launch in 2016.They provided a $10,000 dollar grant during that time period to help the program get off the ground.

The challenges facing underserved youth are complex, and cannot always be addressed simply by providing a tuition waiver. For example, many such youth lack a safe place to practice. In addition, many do not have access to individualized instruction, reliable transportation, or the means to purchase an instrument. CHIME meets all of these needs, and has a transformative impact on students and also the community at large.

"We know that the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Private Foundation supports many worthy causes," said ESYO Executive Director Rebecca Calos, "and we are so grateful that the Trustees have chosen to place confidence in ESYO once again, and to do so with such a significant award. We are excited by CHIME's growth, and the remarkable progress our children have made in just three short years. This grant makes possible the program's continued expansion by providing crucial support for exceptional teaching artists."

Recently, ESYO put a new leadership team into place, dividing responsibilities between an administrative and an artistic leader. Monica Wilson Roach is the CHIME conductor and master teacher and Jared Shortmeier is the CHIME administrative director.

In addition to the new leadership team, CHIME also has many talented musical instructors that include several alumni of the organization (see below for list). These are musicians who stand behind CHIME and ESYO.

For additional information on CHIME visit: https://esyo.org/programs/chime-program 

CHIME Teaching Alumni
• Elyse Barna, Class of 2009: Woodwind Teaching Artist at Van Corlaer & Proctors; Office Assistant; Concertino Strings Manager.
• Bridie Schnore, Class of 2011: Yates Site Leader & String Teaching Artist;
• Esther Witherell, Class of 2014: String Teaching Artist at Carroll Hill (Troy);
• Olivia Cox, Class of 2014: String Teaching Artist at Yates;
• Matthew Johnson, Class of 1985 : Lead Strings Teaching Artist at Proctors;
• Cathy Gatta, Class of 1984: String Teaching Artist at Yates;
• Teresa Gatta Norton, Class of 1982; String Teaching Artist at Proctors;