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Eclectic String Music Ensemble Works with Students

photo of Eclectic String Music Ensemble

Over the past year, the Foundation, thanks to our donors, has contributed thousands of dollars to music education in our schools. Band instruments, digital pianos, the trip to Florida…the list goes on and on. 


One of the most inspiring grants the Foundation has funded was the one written by High School Music Teacher Bree Mitchell for a workshop and performance conducted by the Eclectic String Music Ensemble (ESME), a classically trained acoustic string music group. ESME includes musicians from world renowned performing arts organizations, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Grand Rapids Ballet. 


“The Orchestra students benefited greatly from working with the Eclectic String Music Ensemble,” Mitchell says. “Working with a professional group who are experts in chamber music and popular music gave us new opportunities to play fun music that was familiar to the students and challenging to them as musicians. ESME was able to give us feedback on our playing, coach us to play more expressively and challenged us to play with more emotion. 


“The concert was a celebration of Orchestra because it's one of the first times that the full Orchestra program, 6-12, was represented in one concert. We also were inspired by ESME's duets they performed at the concert.”

  • Ray and Kristin Abraham
    Ray and Kristin Abraham
  • The Adamy Family
  • Sue and Marty Allen
  • The Bissell/Kruer Family
    The Bissell/Kruer Family
  • Dennis and Jennifer Bruce
    Dennis and Jennifer Bruce
  • Jason and Elizabeth Christopherson
  • Pat Connor
    Pat Connor
  • Nancy Cook
  • Damian and Sara deGoa
    Damian and Sara deGoa
  • Rick and Carol Godfrey
  • John and Deanna Green
  • The Iakiri Family
    The Iakiri Family
  • KV and Jena Lacks
  • Steve and Jenny McMahon
  • Dave Mehney
    Dave Mehney
  • Matthew Richenthal
    Matthew Richenthal
  • Elaine Rongey
  • SILVA
    SILVA
  • Beth Wells Skaggs
    Beth Wells Skaggs
  • Abby and Rich Sorota
  • Nick Thole and Amy Turner-Thole
    Nick Thole and Amy Turner-Thole
  • Charley and Janine Thompson
    Charley and Janine Thompson
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