Little 7 year-old Chris was so wrong about my 2020 self (unfortunately I’m not a multi-millionaire botanist) - but finding this hidden away among old papers this past week has an interesting coincidence. I’ve been talking a lot about dreams/what the future might look like for 150+ young musicians these past two weeks with the VIA Academy and I’m so hopeful for the future of classical music.

VIA Academy’s inaugural free summer music program took place in two sessions from June 20th - July 2nd, reaching 161 students over the two weeks in 37 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. VIA Academy engaged students from remote and underrepresented communities in classical music and ranged in age from 13-18 years old. The students were joined with 12 teaching artists who all were Fellows or Alumni of the New World Symphony. VIA Academy also presented classes with 7 guest speakers varying from financial support and career pathways to optimal performance practice and yoga for musicians.