“We believe that the arts signify and represent the health of the community. Vibrancy in the arts makes a community a more desirable place to live and to work.”
That’s the mindset prompted Louisa Shepherd to help found the
COR (Cincinnati Out Reach) Music Project in December 2011, a free, after-school orchestra program that provides innovative access to classical music to youth who are typically underserved when it comes to arts programming.
The group also wants to give those same students opportunities and inspiration to attend college. COR Executive Director Deron Hall is a French horn player for the
University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and Shepherd herself was able to attend college thanks to a music scholarship.
“We have a passion for music, and it’s taken us from one circumstance to another,” Shepherd says. “We’re very much about giving back and revitalizing the arts in our community.”
The approach is two-pronged: COR’s teaching artists lead piano, voice/choir, guitar and electronic music courses at schools that lack arts programs. At the same time, COR works year-round with local communities to form orchestras for youth in grades three and up. The first such effort will launch in Avondale this January.
Purcell Marian High School is currently COR’s sole institutional partner; the goal is to secure partnerships with at least three more area schools next year.
“We like to say we work in the community and not for the community,” says Shepherd. “We’re making it something the community stands behind and sees as valuable. It’s about showing the community the tools we have and finding out what we can do together.”
COR’s “all play, none pay” philosophy is supported by
ArtsWave grants, outside donations and nominal commitments from partner schools, as well as the group’s organized fundraising efforts.
Do Good:
• Watch COR in action
online.
• Make a tax-deductible
donation to support COR.
• Keep up with COR news and events on
Facebook.
By Hannah Purnell
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