Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Roberta Guaspari

“With the violin, I can get into kids' hearts and souls.”
—Roberta Guaspari, 1992

In 1991, 150 kids in three East Harlem public elementary schools were about to lose their cherished violin program as a result of budget cuts. Working with parents, other teachers and volunteers, their violin teacher, Roberta Guaspari, founded Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, a private, nonprofit organization, to save the program and to continue to serve public school students in low-income areas.



Violinist Arnold Steinhardt, impressed by what he witnessed in these Harlem music classes, engaged colleagues Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern to organize Fiddlefest, a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall to keep the violin program alive. Not only did this first concert shine a bright light on Opus 118, it became the first in a series of Fiddlefests with acclaimed musicians such as Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, and Mark O'Connor joining the Harlem students in performance.

Roberta Guaspari’s passionate struggle to keep music instruction alive in Harlem's public schools has inspired two films: Small Wonders, a 1996 documentary produced by Susan Kaplan and directed by Allan Miller, and Miramax’s 1999 feature film, Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep; both films received Academy Award nominations. The New York City Schools Chancellor restored funds for Ms. Guaspari and for two more Opus violin teachers. Today, Opus serves in five New York public schools.

In 2002, Opus 118 Harlem School of Music expanded on the success of its internationally recognized In-School Music Program and established a comprehensive community music school currently located at 103 East 125th Street in Harlem.

Through this community music school, Opus 118 can meet the needs of this fast-growing and underserved community by offering opportunities for New York City public school students to obtain one-on-one and ensemble instruction after school, offering access to music education for children who may not have music programs in their schools at all, and offering instruction for adults who want to learn a musical instrument or advance their musical skills. In addition to Opus 118's traditional violin program, the expanded curriculum includes viola, cello, piano, guitar, chorus and early childhood music education.
Opus 118 Harlem School of Music expanded their reach even further in 2008 by creating the Community Programs Initiative which partners Opus 118 with local communities, organizations and schools to bring music classes and performances to even more people in the community. Opus 118 students play for local hospitals and special events while the faculty brings music education to after-school programs and early childhood music education to Head Start Programs.

What started in one Harlem classroom now affects thousands of children, here in New York and in other cities that have taken inspiration from the Opus 118 story.
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Roberta Guaspari (born September 15, 1947) is an American violinist and music teacher in Harlem, New York.

Early life

Roberta grew up in a working-class family in Rome, New York. She graduated with a music education degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 1969. She created a scholarship there in 2008.

Career

She co-founded Opus 118, a school of music that provides music instruction and teacher development. A documentary film, Small Wonders (directed by Allan Miller), and a movie, Music of the Heart (starring Meryl Streep as Roberta) soon followed, depicting Guaspari’s struggle to keep music in the Harlem schools.

Awards

Links
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2017 at 6:31 PM

    Sometimes it takes just a single person with passion to bring about positive change to many.

    ReplyDelete

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