Little Grace Notes, the only student-run music education program in Illinois, stems summer learning loss for scores of Evanston?s at-risk youth.
Little Grace Notes, run by 15-year old Emma Michalak and operated out of area community centers, connected with more than 40 children this summer to prevent summer learning loss and bridge the education gap.
Some of Evanston?s most vulnerable children were offered free classical piano instruction as well as music theory and history. The children who qualified for this program had little, if any, prior music education and limited financial resources.
“When I learned that an education gap existed in my community — between the ?haves? and the ?have-nots,’ I felt I had to do something”, Michalak says.
Since 2010, LGN has connected with 25-40 at-risk children each summer at Family Focus, Fleetwood- Jourdain, McGaw YMCA, Evanston Public Library and the Robert Crown Community Center.
The participants were given private music instruction and introduced to Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin. To date more than 60 of Evanston?s children have benefitted from this summer enrichment program.
LGN has been generously supported by Evanston?s Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, the Kiwanis Foundation of Evanston, the North End Mother?s Club, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra and the Evanston Public Library.