COMMUNITY UNITY MUSIC & ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAM

A National Initiative Providing Quality Music, Media and Arts Education to Inner-City Youth

Fe Nunn, CEO of CUMEP, and the talented young CUMEP musicians pose for a

cover photo of the Ithaca Times article entitled, "The School of Rock" which

praised the success of the program among disadvantaged urban youth.

Community Unity Music Education Program (CUMEP) in Ithaca, New York, provides low-to-no cost music, media and arts education to youth of limited financial resources. The program especially targets low-income youth of African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American (ALANA) background. Of course, we welcome children from all backgrounds to participate.

Our goal is to provide participating youth with multicultural instruction in music and the arts, for the purpose of helping them develop positive self-esteem, academic and social skills, self-confidence and self-discipline, public performance skills and an awareness of and excitement about college and career opportunities. Through their involvement in the program, the children develop relationships with positive role models who reinforce these goals.

1) Our twice-per-week afterschool program operates out of the Southside Community Center on S. Plain St. (Tuesdays) and at the Ithaca College School of Music (Thursdays).

2) Our six-week Summer Program is conducted from early July through mid-August.

Youth participate in a range of activities, experiencing both individual and group instruction in African drumming, singing, piano, guitar, classical strings (violin, viola, cello), creative writing, acting and most recently, video production.

“We want to fulfill the dreams of parents who would wish for their children to have a quality musical background but would not have the means to provide for it."