EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: PVS ADDS MUSIC INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
The Pioneer Valley Symphony's mission is to connect, inspire and enhance our community by providing opportunities to
make, appreciate, and learn about music. In keeping with our mission, and to ensure a healthy music environment in our region, the PVS has taken on the management and development of Strings for Kids (a collaboration with Greenfield Public Schools), private lessons, and group music instruction in complement to our existing educational programming: Youth Orchestra (est. 2013) and Education Concert (est. 1994). While new to the PVS, these programs were previously operated by Artspace Community Arts Center of Greenfield. In January 2023, Artspace sought a new steward for their music school and the PVS was fortunate to have been in a position to take on this role. We continue to host activities at Artspace and in other Greenfield spaces, investing in Franklin County's music ecosystem, and ensuring a healthy future for these vital programs providing accessible music instruction to our community.
IN MEMORIAM: MARY KAY HOFFMAN
Strings for Kids, the PVS Youth Orchestra, and what was once known as the Franklin Community Music School were established in whole or in part by Mary Kay Hoffman, an inimitable champion for youth music education, who sadly passed away in March 2023. You can read a beautiful obituary by Mary Kay's family here. The legacy of Mary Kay lives on through her friends and family, of course, but also through her colleagues, at Artspace, at the PVS, and through the hundreds of students who have passed through these programs and will do so in the future. In collaboration with Mary Kay's family, we are honored to announce the Mary Kay Hoffman Scholarship Fund for youth musicians. The vision for this fund is to provide substantial financial assistance to musicians up through age 18 to support their musical journeys with assistance with tuition, instrument rental or repair, and so on. You can contribute to this fund with a tax-deductible charitable gift using the button below.