Strings for Kids, which has been running since the 2008/9 school year, was started by Mary Kay Hoffman at Artspace and is now a partnership between the Greenfield Public Schools and the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra. The goal of the program was and is to ensure that EVERY child in Greenfield has the opportunity to learn to play a string instrument. The program is run once per week, before or after school, at each of the 3 elementary schools and the Middle School, and meets a second time, bringing together all participating students from all schools, on Sunday afternoons. Tuition is on a sliding scale, and we will do everything we can to make sure that cost is not a barrier. Instrument rental is included in the Strings for Kids program, at no additional cost to the student. 

​

Over the nearly 16 years of Strings for Kids, hundreds of students have learned cello and violin.

​

There are many benefits of Strings For Kids.

• We have made it a primary goal to be a steady force in the lives of our students and provide stability and continuity through whatever life throws at us/them.

• We address societal concerns with our students, as we have gone through challenging times together and explored what it looks like to think and be and explore as a musician, and an appreciator of other musicians.

• We work to expand our students' musical horizons in all kinds of ways, talking about difficult parts of history, helping them to discover music and musicians they may not otherwise learn about.

• We build community among our young musicians and see that our students come together and support each other in remarkable ways.