For more than two years, Ebonie Vazquez searched to find a music teacher of color for her son, Giovanni. He is 11 years old and loves to play the violin. Now, she has found that teacher at New Hope Presbyterian Church, a Christian religious center, near Los Angeles, California.
Chineta Goodjoin, a Black pastor, leads New Hope. She started a string orchestra at the church in April to help children of color have a better chance to learn classical music.
Goodjoin and the orchestra’s leaders think it is important for the music teachers to look like their students and share similar life experiences. That is why the orchestra’s director, Charles Dickerson and all its music teachers are people of color.
Dickerson is also the director of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, which he founded in 2009. After Goodjoin’s daughter Nyla began playing in that orchestra, Goodjoin decided to build a similar group at her church.
The church’s orchestra now has about 18 members, aged nine to 20. They play the violin, viola, bass and cello. The orchestra accepts all students who want to join.
Ebonie Vazquez says having teachers of color has helped the orchestra members feel like they fit in well.
“It’s important they don’t feel like outsiders, but are supported and feel like they belong,” she said. “It has definitely helped my son connect more to the music and the craft.”
Her son Giovanni said that in the church orchestra, he could play classical music or popular modern music. He values being part of the church orchestra because “it’s a piece of our community.”
“They encourage young musicians of color and everyone gets a chance to play and maybe use it as a stepping stone to get better or even turn this into a career,” he said.
Elizabeth Moulthrop is executive director of El Sistema, an international network of music education programs that was founded in Venezuela.
She said programs like the church orchestra can help students go to life-changing summer music camps, receive college scholarships, and find connections to jobs.
Goodjoin said she and her husband, Reggie Goodjoin, see a future for the orchestra where “African American kids play classical music and play it well.” Reggie Goodjoin is a jazz musician and the church’s music director.
The group plays a mix of both classical and popular music. “I like to say they play everything from Bach to Beyonce,” added Goodjoin. They also learn music by famous African American jazz composers such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
Goodjoin said she believes the church is a great place to start talking about fairness in music. “Music is freedom,” Goodjoin added.
The pastor is already getting praise from parents. One boy who plays the upright bass was about to quit playing because no one in his school orchestra looked like him.
“His mom said that when he came here, the pressure to play and compete was taken off and that it’s a delight to now watch her son light up feeling a sense of worthiness,” she said.
Dickerson said he started the Los Angeles orchestra when a group of students told him they wanted to play closer to where they live.
“They would have to drive long distances to be in these orchestras where they didn’t know the other kids,” he said. “The young kids from our communities were always put in the back row and the back row was right next to the door.”
“It’s easy to walk out that door,” he added, “when you don’t really feel accepted and when you know you’re probably not as skilled as the others.” He added that those other students usually had more music lessons and started playing at a younger age.
Dickerson said the Black Church has at times been the only place the African American community could organize services they needed, such as banks and newspapers.
“If we can come together in the church and create a symphonic orchestra, all I can say is all praise to God,” he added.
I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Anna Matteo.
Deepa Bharath wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
pastor -n. a leader of a church
outsider -n. a person who does not belong to a particular group
craft -n. an activity that involves doing something skillfully
encourage -v. to help people want to do things
a stepping stone -noun phrase -- an experience that can help you make progress, especially in your career
delight -n. something that brings happiness
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