Our Mission

Etude for Youth was created in 2021 to address the inequitable access to private music lessons for middle school students in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In an effort to help close the opportunity gap for Saint Paul Public Schools students from low-income families compared to their peers, Etude for Youth provides funding for motivated students to take weekly private lessons from local instructors during their school day. These students are musicians who currently participate in their respective middle school music programs but whose families are unable to afford private lessons. Our first year to support students will be the 2022-23 school year.

Objectives for Etude for Youth’s lesson program:

• Facilitate positive mentorships between instructors and their students

• Nurture development of life skills such as perseverance, discipline, and confidence through commitment to lessons and regular practice

• Foster continued improvement of students’ fundamentals on their instruments through individualized instruction, leading to greater musical empowerment and independence

• Provide an opportunity for each student to perform a solo piece in front of a small audience through participation in a recital for all students supported by Etude for Youth at the end of the school year

• Prepare students to participate and excel in school music ensembles once they enter high school