TFO Community Engagement’s busy summer
TFO’s Community Engagement team has been all over Tampa Bay
this summer. Hundreds of kids participated in over 20 Instrument
Petting Zoos scheduled at libraries and summer camps in
Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties.
At the League of American Orchestras annual conference, TFO’s
Community Engagement Manager Daryn Bauer moderated a
session on LGBTQ+ programs at orchestras around the country.
The panel included composer Leo Hurley and staff from the Queer
Urban Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Seattle Symphony.
The panel was one of the highest-rated events at the conference.
TFO also hosted a booth at St. Petersburg’s annual Pride Festival
– the largest community event of the year in St. Pete (in addition
to being the largest Pride Festival in the state of Florida!).
The partnership with the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program brought
violin classes to 76 new children. The program expanded to five
locations, including Roy Haynes Park, Cyrus Greene Park, UACDC,
Thonotosassa Recreation Center, and Gardenville Recreation
Center. Kids received 3 hours of instruction per week and went on
a field trip to The Violin Shop Tampa. Kids who have been involved
in the Prodigy program over the last year also had the opportunity
to sign up for a “Violin Bootcamp.” Those students performed in
a joint showcase with the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in
July. The program, which is sponsored by Hillsborough County
and the University Area Community Development Corporation,
will continue this fall, so stay tuned for developments. In just a
year, this program already has grown from one site to five and
reached more than 100 kids.
Pinellas County Schools has also supported the creation of a
Summer Strings Program with one of TFO’s Teaching Artists,
Kaitlin Springer. Kaitlin prepped students from across the county
on All-State and All-County audition music at Dunedin High
School and John Hopkins Middle School. Both TFO Teaching
Artists are now back in action visiting orchestra programs across
Pinellas County.
Thank you for your support of community engagement at TFO!
We’re looking forward to an exciting season.
THE FLORIDA OR 70 CHESTRA | 2019-2020
Prodigy violin students from Gardenville
Recreation Center visit The Violin Shop Tampa.
Prodigy violin students perform at the Florida
Museum of Photographic Arts.
TFO Teaching Artists perform for students at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School.