Written By Daniel Lord
Community can mean a lot of things. It can be the people who live in the houses around you, or it could be a group of friends scattered across the world. It could be the people you go to school or work with, or a canceled television show starring Donald Glover and Joel McHale.
When I think about community, I think about the ecosystem a person builds around themselves, their support system. A community is a safe space for people to explore themselves and thrive. A sense of belonging is crucial to a person's development and self-realization, but even with how diverse the City of Philadelphia is, it can be easy to feel isolated.
Rock to the Future’s MusiCommunity programs are designed to help break down those barriers. Our programs bring students from different parts of Philly together to find common ground, and allow students to find others who resonate at the same frequency as they do. These programs are free to attend and all the musical instruments are provided, allowing us to give opportunities to our students that they otherwise might not have the resources to pursue.
The rhythmic pounding of drums has brought people together since the beginning of time, and it’s still the case in community centers across the city. Take a peek inside of our programs and you'll find students coming together to collaborate with each other and create something bigger than the sum of its parts.
Our showcases give them a chance to take what they’ve been working on and show it to the rest of the world, and one of the cardinal “Rules of Rock,” is that every performance is met with applause and positive reinforcement. It takes guts to get up on that stage!
NOMO means New Options More Opportunities and thats what our programs at the NOMO Foundation are all about.
Teens at NOMO North and South get the opportunity to learn piano or guitar, and give an in class performance at the end of each term.
We've been so excited to see what our students have been able to do at our MusiCommunity programs across the city and its been a great opportunity to expand outside of our school-based programs.
Interested in what you've read? There is still space left in some of our programs, so fill out our program interest form and a member of our team will be in touch!