May 28, 2024

Art Works Podcast

Director of Education and Violin/Viola Teaching Artist at the Paterson Music Project (PMP) Shanna Lin gives us the program's history: it’s an El Sistema-inspired program established in 2013 with 32 second graders and now serves over 500 students from 25 schools in Paterson, N.J. PMP offers after-school programs four days a week and on Saturdays, including string orchestra, concert band, guitar, jazz, hand drumming, keyboard, and choir and provides instruments to students at no cost.

We discuss the principles of El Sistema. Started in Venezuela about 50 years ago as a social impact program, it uses music education to teach discipline, teamwork, and community building. She notes that El Sistema has spread globally, with over 140 programs in the US, including 5 in New Jersey. Lin shares that students in PMP come from Paterson Public School District and celebrates the diversity of the city with its significant immigrant populations. Lin talks about the importance of parental involvement through a volunteer parent committee and shares how parents support program activities, provide input, and help during events and the importance of long-time supporters like the National Endowment for the Arts. Lin also discusses how PMP fills the gap left by budget cuts in Paterson schools that reduced programming in instrumental programs and explains that PMP is part of Wharton Arts, which includes New Jersey Youth Symphony, New Jersey Youth Chorus, and a performing arts school. She recounts her own path to becoming a co-founding teaching artist at PMP and shares how her mentors, Choong-Jin Chang and Honggang Li, influenced her approach to music education. Lin highlights the expressive outlet and sense of identity that music provides for students and shares stories of how PMP offers a supportive community where students feel they belong and can thrive. Shanna also describes the diverse backgrounds of PMP's 30 teaching artists, including public school teachers, freelance musicians, and international artists and shares how these teachers bring unique skills and experiences, enriching the program for students. And finally, Lin shares the joy of knowing students and their families a decade or more—which is central to community music programs like PMP.