An Arlington-based nonprofit offering music lessons to low-income students is aiming to double its program size through new community engagement efforts.
Play it Forward, a nonprofit by local music organization Piano & More, provides free piano lessons, resources and mentorship to students at Title I schools. With an eye on expanding, Piano & More launched new sponsorships this month and intends to apply for more grants later in the year.
The program currently has five pupils in Arlington and Fairfax counties, executive director Nicole Kovar told ARLnow. Three are students at Randolph Elementary School.
“I know five doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you see the deep impact that we’re making in these individual children’s lives, it is a lot,” Kovar said. “It’s a big impact.”
Kovar wants to serve at least five more students, hire more teachers and potentially expand to another Arlington school by Piano & More’s tenth anniversary next April.
As a result, the group is on a mission to increase its funding and community awareness.
Piano & More began seeking partnerships with local businesses this month through a new sponsorship webpage. Play it Forward also receives funding through its partner schools, the Arlington Community Foundation and the Robins Foundation, a Richmond-based early childhood care and education group.
Kovar felt inspired to launch Play it Forward in 2018 after attending one of Piano & More’s student recitals. Realizing some of the financial barriers to learning an instrument like the piano, she hoped to expand opportunity and access to it.
“There was a lack of variety in the students that we had,” Kovar said. “It kind of hit me that if you want to be a pianist, you have to have a certain status, you have to have the means … not to mention the keyboard and the piano itself. That’s a big investment.”
This year, Kovar also hopes to teach others about the mental health benefits of music. As more kids in Northern Virginia are reportedly experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, Kovar said the arts are an important source of relief.
Playing an instrument can be helpful tool to help manage stress and emotions. Kovar is interested in seeing how music teachers can implement mental health tips and strategies into lessons.
“[Kids are] surrounded by social media, they’re surrounded by screens, and playing an instrument can help with both of those things,” Kovar said. “It’s a screen-free activity. It’s a way to release your emotions. It’s a way to block out the world and to be present.”
In a perfect world, she believes, there would be “a musician in every household.”
Outside of Play of Forward, Piano & More provides in-home music lessons to about 100 students in Arlington, Falls Church and McLean.
Teachers take an encouraging, non-competitive approach, with a goal of creating “happy musicians and happy performers.”
