Partner Organizations
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) has partnered with Hope Academy since its formation in 1999—and with East Liberty Presbyterian Church since 1994—to bring dance into the community. Students ages 3–15 have participated in pre-ballet, ballet, and creative movement classes taught by PBT teaching artists and accompanied by live music from PBT accompanists on drums and piano. From 2018–2019, 388 students have already experienced the joy, discipline, and creativity that dance can inspire. PBT’s partnership with Hope Academy represents a commitment to equity in the arts and to the belief that the arts can serve as a bridge for opportunity and achievement for all.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s (PBT) mission is to be Pittsburgh’s source of extraordinary ballet experiences that give life to the classical tradition, nurture new ideas and, above all, inspire. The company’s eclectic style and irrepressible energy have been shaped by a series of distinguished artistic directors over five decades. Through more than 50 performances each year at home in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District and on tour, PBT audiences discover the passion and joy of ballet. Learn more at PBT.org.
Hip Hop Orchestra
In partnership with Hope Academy—including its space, teaching artists, administrative personnel, and shared equipment, and other resources—the Hip Hop Orchestra program has become a reality and is now in its fourth year. The Hip Hop Orchestra Summer Music Camp is an annual six-day intensive music instruction and performance day camp providing primarily African American youth with a means of learning, creating, performing, and sharing music. It includes music production and the use of technology to learn, create, and share music; private and group instrumental and vocal study; music composition; and a public performance Saturday afternoon concert. The Summer Camp and ongoing year-long music instruction occurs in close partnership with Hope Academy and takes place at Hope Academy’s home – East Liberty Presbyterian Church. This is a vital partnership and enables both organizations to achieve the shared goal of providing high quality arts instruction to diverse and underserved youth.
Hip Hop Orchestra is a music performance and education program using current mainstream music through the lens of acoustic and orchestral instruments. The Orchestra is comprised of instrumentalists, singers, and rappers working primarily with the music of “now.” Participants learn to read and write music with standard notation, explore beat making; produce original music; and learn arrangements of hip hop, rock, popular, classical, and jazz music. “Hip Hop Orchestra” achieves Collegiate level musicianship goals by providing high quality individual and group music instruction. The model relies heavily on tapping students’ self motivation and inherent passion for music by working with material of foremost relevance to them. The content used is always appropriate.
Hip Hop Orchestra combines the use of music/media technology with traditional acoustic instruments to facilitate music learning and performance in today’s technology centric world. The aim is to provide a method for learning, creating, and performing music with acoustic musical instruments aided but not dominated by modern technology. We recruit, educate, mentor, and perform with young musicians ages 9–19. The project includes an annual summer music camp at East Liberty Presbyterian Church and ongoing music instruction after the camp at Hope Academy of Music and the Arts.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh
Consonant with its mission to present extraordinary chamber music to the Pittsburgh community, Chamber Music Pittsburgh (CMP) is committed to cultivating an appreciation for the art in students throughout the Pittsburgh community. To this end, Chamber Music Pittsburgh offers numerous educational programs and experiences. Since 2016, CMP has been dedicated to a new partnership with Hope Academy of Music and the Arts in East Liberty. CMP now offers nearly 200 stringed instruments to students in their program through a free, need-based musical instrument lending library. The library, owned and maintained by Chamber Music Pittsburgh, allows students and families that could otherwise not afford to buy or rent an instrument, the opportunity to borrow an instrument to play and learn on. These students and families also receive free tickets to all CMP concerts.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh (CMP) was established in 1961 by a group of civic leaders committed to providing Pittsburgh audiences with the opportunity to hear the world’s finest chamber music artists. Over the past five decades it has continued to realize that vision by presenting an impressive array of artists via its Carnegie Music Hall subscription series, its eclectic Just Summer series now held outdoors at Ace Hotel Pittsburgh in East Liberty, and its newest Pittsburgh Performs series that features a diverse group of local Pittsburgh artists in unusual venues outside of the traditional concert hall setting, with a focus on underserved neighborhoods.
CMP upholds the highest standards of quality programming through the careful selection of highly skilled musicians from a variety of backgrounds. CMP has offered educational programs and experiences including masterclasses and coachings with visiting artists, workshops, lectures, scholarships, practice challenges, ticket giveaways, and multi-faceted outreach projects including the Beethoven Project and others. Chamber Music Pittsburgh is a vital element of the cultural life in Pittsburgh and is recognized throughout the classical music world. It is one of the most respected chamber music organizations in North America. Learn more at ChamberMusicPittsburgh.org
Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute
The Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute sponsors a summer camp in August each year that draws teachers and students of the Suzuki method from all over the United States and Canada, and a weekend workshop in Pittsburgh in the fall. We are proud to partner with Hope Academy to offer scholarships to their Suzuki students in both of these programs. Other activities sponsored by GPSI include the Community Music School of Pittsburgh, which offers scholarship lessons to deserving students in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, and a free instrument to those who need one.
The Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute, also known as GPSI, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) entity that seeks to build community through music. We use the philosophy and methods of Dr. Shin’ichi Suzuki of Japan to teach children music the same way they learn to speak, using their aural skills at first rather than working from a written score. Suzuki believed that all children are musically talented and that teachers and parents must create an environment that fosters their ability. Hallmarks of this method include listening to high-quality recordings, parental involvement in lessons and practicing, support of musical peers in group classes, and positive feedback for each child. Our students typically begin lessons as pre-schoolers or in early elementary school, learn to read notes when they read words, and become accomplished young musicians who play in their school music programs, the local youth orchestras, bands, churches, and other community venues. We hope to foster music as a life-long activity and as a means of connection with others. Click here to learn more. [/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]