After just a few rehearsals, the "new musicians" practicing in the orchestra hall at Arlington High School were making music together, with accurate notes, proper timing and much enthusiasm. The students are part of a new program, the first of its kind in Texas, that pairs orchestra students with special needs students who have a desire to make music.
The program, United Sound, is in schools across the country, and got its local start at Arlington High in October, where it took off like a flash. Student mentors, new musicians and teachers all sing the praises of the program.
"They're all teenagers and they're all kind of wanting to get the same thing out of whatever we do and that's just to be successful at something and to have something that's genuine with other students," said Andrew Goins, Director of the Arlington High orchestra.
United Sound is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide musical performance experiences for students with special needs through peer mentorship. The United Sound program, only two years old, piloted with six programs but will expand to 30 programs this year. It is the focus of this month's Dream Builders, a show on MyArlingtonTV that highlights the ways our community is helping kids dream big, nurture their creativity, polish their skills and develop the tools they need to achieve their American Dream as young adults.
The City's Office of Communication develops programming for MyArlingtonTV. Viewers can find MyArlingtonTV programs on the following cable systems: Time Warner Channel 16 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99, and streaming capabilities at www.arlington-tx.gov.
All episodes of Dream Builders are also available on the City's YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter account.
MyArlingtonTV Links:
Dream Builders, Arlington ISD
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