
Opus Today
This season marks the 10-year anniversary of the Community Opus Project. Over 100 of its past musicians are now learning in SDYS’ Conservatory programs on weekends in Balboa Park. Opus’ co-founder musicians, who were in third grade in 2010, are now graduating high school and the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) now offers music education to over 20,000 students at 32 schools.
With the continued reinstatement of music education in CVESD, SDYS has shifted ownership of after-school music programs to district-hired music teachers. SDYS now directly supports six after-school music programs led by a CVESD music teacher, in-school instrumental coaching in the classroom at 18 sites during the school day, professional development for all CVESD music teachers, and advocates for quality music education in the Chula Vista community.
The History
San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory (SDYS) believes every student deserves music education for the lifetime of joy it provides and the habits, skills and traits students acquire that will improve their academic, personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, public school budget cuts have made it inaccessible for many students. Determined to use its resources to reverse that trend, in 2010 SDYS adopted a long-term vision of “making music education accessible and affordable for all.” To achieve this goal, it launched the Community Opus Project to demonstrate the positive effects of learning music by providing free afterschool music instruction, engaging the parents, educating the community, and persuading school districts to reinstate district-wide music instruction.
For the pilot program, SDYS partnered with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, which had not provided school-day music instruction for more than 15 years. SDYS began by providing free afterschool instrumental instruction to 65 third-graders at two schools. The positive effects on the students were apparent so quickly that in 2013 CVESD committed to reinstating in-school music instruction so that all of its nearly 30,000 students would be able to learn music.
SDYS, CVESD and other local partners continue to collaborate to make high-quality music instruction available for all students. Students, families and other residents from all parts of Chula Vista will come together around the shared joy of learning, performing and experiencing beautiful music.
For more information about our Opus Project, contact Brianda Felix, Community Program Coordinator, at bfelix@sdys.org.
Resources
GIAreader: Grantmakers in the Arts
“Disrupting the Status Quo” – El Sistema, the Community Opus Project, and School Reform in the Chula Vista Elementary School District
Stand For Your Mission
The Power of Board Advocacy: A Discussion Guide for Boards
Arts Education Retakes the Stage in California Schools
California School Board Magazine | May 1, 2016
Time to Embrace Arts Education as a Priority
UT San Diego | March 9, 2016
More Information
For more information about our Opus Project, contact Brianda Felix, Community Program Coordinator, at bfelix@sdys.org.
Community Opus Project Supporters & Partners

SCHOOL PARTNERS | COMMUNITY PARTNERS | NATIONAL PARTNERS |
---|---|---|
Chula Vista Elementary School District Sweetwater Union High School District Visual and Performing Arts San Diego County Office of Education Visual and Performing Arts Kellogg Elementary Rodgers Elementary Veterans Elementary Castle Park Middle Chula Vista Middle Hilltop Middle Castle Park High Chula Vista High | Chula Vista Community Collaborative Arts Empower San Diego South Bay Community Services Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood South Bay Alliance for Arts Education UC San Diego Center for Human Development UC San Diego Extension Academic Connections SDSU School of Music San Diego Symphony South Bay Family YMCA STEAM Connect La Jolla Music Society | California Alliance for Arts Education El Sistema USA The Ensemble ICAN, Santa Barbara League of American Orchestras Longy School of Music at Bard College National Endowment for the Arts Sistema Global Support Music Coalition VH1 Save The Music Foundation VYMA — Verdugo Young Musicians Association, Pasadena The Weill Music Institute, Carnegie Hall Yale School of Music YOLA, LA Philharmonic |
GOVERNMENT FUNDERS Chula Vista Elementary School District Sweetwater Union High School District City of Chula Vista Cultural Arts Commission City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture County of San Diego Neighborhood Reinvestment Program California Arts Council National Endowment for the Arts US Department of Education – Promise Neighborhood FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE FUNDERS Arthur P Pratt & Jeanette Gladys Pratt Memorial Fund BoardSource | Christopher C. Collins Foundation Christopher Weil & Co Clarence E. Heller Foundation Crossroads II Corporation Cubic Corporation Cynergy D’Addario Foundation David C. Copley Foundation Ford Motor Company Fund/San Diego County Ford Dealers Goodrich/Rohr Employees Fund James Irvine Foundation Kinder Morgan James Lauer Fund at The San Diego Foundation League of American Orchestras/Getty Foundation Legler-Benbough Foundation Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust | Masserini Charitable Trust NAMM Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Opus Community Foundation Price Family Charitable Fund ResMed Foundation Samuel H. French III and Katherine Weaver French Fund Samuel I. & John Henry Fox Foundation Sidney Stern Memorial Trust Southwest Chula Vista Civic Association The Parker Foundation Thomas C. Ackerman Foundation U.S. Bancorp Foundation Union Bank Foundation VH1 Save The Music Foundation Walter J. and Betty C. Zable Foundation Weingart Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation |