2011 has been a great year for the Atlanta Music Project! From student performances and media attention, to Teaching Artist performances and community support, we are thankful for the opportunities that have been afforded to our organization and the neighborhoods we serve. We look forward to an even better 2012! Today, we look back at 11 of the Atlanta Music Project’s highlights of 2011:

1. Atlanta Music Project first public concert ever on February 10, 2011 at the Museum Bar. Attended by close to 150 family members and supporters, the students from AMP’s Gilbert House site bring the crowd to their feet (and to tears) with performances on their instruments and as a choir. AMP students sing World’s Greatest at Museum Bar.

2. AMP Choral Teaching Artist, Aisha Bowden, gets accepted into the Abreu Fellows Program at the New England Conservatory. A result of Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu (founder of Venezuela’s El Sistema) winning the 2009 TED Prize, the Abreu Fellows Program is a post-graduate fellowship that trains gifted young musicians and music educators in non-profit management and the philosophies of El Sistema. The fellowship includes of a residency in Venezuela to study El Sistema. NEC Press Release about 2012 Abreu Fellows.

3. Atlanta Music Project Spring Concert at the W Atlanta Midtown. AMP students perform brilliantly for a crowd 200. Several students of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta performed with our students of music mentors and Councilmember Kwanza Hall awarded AMP a Proclamation on behalf of the Atlanta City Council.AMP article about 2011 Spring Concert. AMP video summary of 2011 Spring Concert, courtesy of Reve Productions.

4. AMP partners with City Of Atlanta’s “Camp Best Friends” for summer program. We were fortunate to be able to keep AMP classes going through the summer months at the Office Of Cultural Affairs’ Gilbert House. Students received three hours of music instruction daily, along with regular camp activities such as swimming, outdoor games, field trips and arts and craft. The classes ended with a summer concert at the Gilbert House.

5. Coca-Cola Foundation awards Atlanta Music Project $50,000. AMP is chosen as a recipient of a grant from Coke, notably, in the category of Education and Youth Development (instead of the usual Arts and Culture). Coca-Cola press release about grantees.

6. The Atlanta community responds to AMP’s 2011 Instrument Donation Drive. Throughout the summer, AMP receives over 60 music instrument donations from the general public. The drive leads to AMP being featured on WSB-TV, WABE 90.1 and to the Artmore Hotel and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra launching a cocktail event in support of AMP. Ron Sachs Violins and Carrere Music also chipped in for instrument appraisals and repairs. Thank you ATL!

7. Atlanta Music Project at Gilbert House African Drum and Dance Residency. Sponsored by the Woodruff Arts Center Enterprise Education and featuring Master Drummer Weedie Braimah and guest Teaching Artists Christian Poret and Mark Poret, AMP students spend four weeks learning African Drum and Dance. The residency culminates in a pulsating performance at the Gilbert House. Watch a video of the AMP students getting down on African drums.

8. Atlanta Music Project launches second site in Edgewood neighborhood. The second site hosts a strings-only at the City of Atlanta’s Coan Recreation Center. The Zeist Foundation, Inc. is a major funder for this location.

9. Atlanta Music Project Teaching Artists perform at TEDxPeachtree 2011. The performance of three chamber ensembles brought the audience to their feet. Click here to watch the entire performance.

10. Atlanta Music Project students Chantania Shackelford and Kailah Corney perform and are featured in media. Kailah Corney and her parents Deadra and Khalid were featured on CBS Atlanta’s Peachtree TV, while Chantania Shackelford performed solo for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors and was featured in an article for the Huffington Post.

11. Atlanta Music Project students perform 2011 Holiday Concerts. Our Gilbert House students had the honor of performing at the Woodruff Arts Center while our Coan Recreation Center students performed admirably at the Coan Rec Center. Bravi to all our wonderful students, Teaching Artists, Music Mentors and partners.

Wishing you all a fantastic 2012!

Dantes