Community Music Center Creates Mission Advisory Council on Community Involvement

San Francisco, CA, January 23, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Community Music Center (CMC) announces its first-ever advisory council on community involvement, the Mission Advisory Council.

CMC’s main branch has resided in the Mission district, a primarily Latino neighborhood, for 88 years. In 2007 the school developed its Music for the Mission initiative to reach and to better serve the people of its community. These programs are funded in part by The James Irvine Foundation, The Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation, Catholic Charities, The Department of Children Youth and Their Families, The San Francisco Federal Credit Union and private donors.

Music for the Mission programs involve a network of Mission-based public schools and organizations including Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Jamestown Community Center, the SFUSD, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, the ODC and others. A key component, The Mission District Young Musicians Program, serves middle and high school aged neighborhood youth and delivers a comprehensive musical education through Latin music. It is a full scholarship program and is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. Community Music Center also provides free private and group music classes at Horace Mann Middle School and Saint Joseph's Family Center. CMC produces Latin music performances in its concert hall that are family friendly and free to the public. These include CMC’s Posarela, a Mexican Christmas musical, as well as guest performers and Latin dance parties.

The Mission Advisory Council will provide Community Music Center with guidance around neighborhood and Latino community involvement. The organizations represented on the council intersect with CMC in various ways and provide meaningful support of the school’s mission of making music accessible to everyone in the community.

The Mission Advisory Council:
Claudia Jasin - Executive Director, Jamestown Community Center
Jennie Rodriguez - Executive Director, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
Jose Leon - After School Youth Coordinator, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
Yvelise Cabral - Parent, Mission District Young Musicians Program. Parent Liaison – SFUSD
Jose Carrasco - Youth Services Manager- Good Samaritan Family Resource Center
Chelis Lopez - Host of radio shows "Andanzas" and "Pajaro Latino-Americano" on KPOO 89.5fm
Joseph Merschdorf - School Relations Coordinator, San Francisco School Volunteers

About Community Music Center:
With branches in the Mission and Richmond Districts of San Francisco and programs throughout the city, CMC is the Bay Area’s oldest community arts organization and San Francisco's largest provider of low-cost, high quality music education. Throughout its 88 years, Community Music Center (CMC) has never turned anyone away for lack of funds. In 2008, 2,300 students of all ages, ethnicities and income levels enrolled in Music Center programs and over 16,000 people enjoyed musical performances at no or low cost.

Contact:
Sonia Caltvedt, Marketing Director
Community Music Center
415-647-6015 x75
scaltvedt@sfcmc.org
www.sfcmc.org

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