By Denny Patterson

When Maestra Sebrina Alfonso founded the South Florida Symphony Orchestra (SFSO) in 1997, a cornerstone of the organization’s mission was dedicated to arts education. The Symphony in the Schools Program was created, which includes thoughtfully curated, compelling, and fun classical music programs, specifically to engage children who most likely have not been exposed to the artform in the past.

Recently, the SFSO was invited to collaborate with Carnegie Hall and its Link Up Program, providing a free, high quality, year-long curriculum that teachers can easily implement. The resources have been digitally enhanced and made available for both in-person and remote teaching settings. 

SFSO President and CEO Jacqueline Lorber talked more with OutClique about the education program. 

Denny Patterson: Hi, Jacqueline! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me about the SFSO Education Program. Can you tell us more about it?

Jacqueline Lorber: Since the inception of our transformative program, we have reached more than 85,000 underserved students in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. During the 2019-2020 school year alone, over 10,000 children attended a free Symphony in the Schools multimedia-infused concert. We have strong community partnerships with the school districts in South Florida, The Kennedy Centers’ Turnaround Arts Program, and now Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Program to serve culturally and economically disadvantaged children who would otherwise have little to no access to orchestra music. In addition to children’s programming, we also perform these programs for the community. On March 14, 2020, there is a free livestream concert of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, in partnership with the Rhythm Foundation and City of Miami Beach, as part of the Arts in the Park series. We hope music lovers both young and old will join us for this family friendly virtual concert. The symphonic fairytale of a brave, young boy who captures a big, bad wolf, comes to life through the narrator and the instruments that illustrate it. This is a great introduction to the orchestra for children. Their imaginations come alive when they connect the various instruments of the orchestra and Peter and his animal friends.

DP: What made this program come to fruition?
JL: The benefits of music education are exponential. Studies show that when children are exposed to music in schools, cognitive function, and academic performance improves. They stay more engaged at school, are more confident, have more discipline, learn to think more creatively, create human connection, and their lives are more enriched overall. Despite the data, states keep cutting back the arts budget. Field trips to science, arts, and cultural centers were also cut. So, it is part of our mission to bring the arts to them.

DP: How is this program being conducted during times of COVID? 

JL: It is a very interesting and challenging time for all of us, especially for arts organizations, whose venues were the first to close and will likely be the last to open during the COVID-19 crisis. SFSO has “made lemonade,” as we say, and have embraced the opportunities that these changes have brought us. We have gotten creative with how we are delivering all of our services. We have virtual concerts for our subscribers, intimate online events for our patrons, and virtual learning options for our partnering schools. We had to shift how we deliver our education content to the children. We have created these fun “creativity break” videos, which teachers can show to the students as stress relief in between academic lessons. We have provided students with free access to our virtual orchestral concerts, so they can experience live music from music masters like Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and so many more. In addition, we will be recording one of our signature Symphony in the Schools programs, Preserving Our Coral Reefs, this month, which will replace the children physically coming to see the concert live until we can all be back in the theatre together again.

DP: What do you hope participants take away from this program?
JL: We hope that music enriches their lives. In addition to the benefits mentioned previously, classical music just makes you feel good. Listening to music lowers stress, aids in relaxation, and boosts memory.

DP: How will this program benefit the SFSO as a whole?
JL: SFSO’s mission is to entertain, inspire, and educate the communities we serve. Enriching the lives of students is just part of our DNA. We are always thinking creatively and strategically about how we can expand this impactful program and reach more and more children.

DP: Are there any details you can provide about the 2021 season?
JL: Yes, of course! SFSO continued to bring music to the community, even after the COVID-19 shutdown. We are one of the only local organizations that continued with our 2020-2021 season. We safely recorded six Masterworks concerts with musicians in masks and six feet apart. There are still two remaining concerts this season. On March 20, 2021, you can enjoy music by Mozart, Ravel, and Ginastera, and the season will conclude with Shostakovich’s first piano concerto performed by audience favorite Svetlana Smolina, Tchaikovsky’s ravishing Serenade. As for next season, we are hoping to be physically back in the theatre, but will continue to provide the best in music virtually until then.