To know more about Sichuan, click the following link:

Current status of the selection process

We have decided to select the county level cities of Du Jiang Yan and Peng Zhou for the locations of our first two 'Schools of Orchestra'. The city of Jin Tang also impressed us much and will be retained as a choice for further openings in the next years.

To know more about these locations and our relationship with them, please click on the individual hyperlinks above.

Why Sichuan?

In its first year of operation, the goal of Music for the Growing Mind is to open and manage two Schools of Orchestra in Sichuan’s most quake-affected areas to the north and northwest of Chengdu.

There, the powerful May 2008 earthquake did not merely destroy buildings, but also disrupted social links within the affected communities. A project like ours, in which social links are created between the children in the orchestras and between the orchestras and the communities, is therefore particularly meaningful.

From the beginning, Music for the Growing Mind has forged ties with local authorities and we aim to work alongside them in their determination to use the relief effort as a tool for development, providing communities with access to higher living standards and broadened perspectives.

As the future of all of us relies upon the future of our children, the promotion of innovative methods in education, especially for children in need, is an essential component in this new phase in the development of the affected communities.

 

The ‘Pact’

We enter into a Memoranda of Understanding with communities regarding the operation of Music for the Growing Mind and Schools of Orchestras.

On our side, we commit to create, organize and manage Schools of Orchestras. Children will be welcomed to the schools two days per week after their regular school classes. We will provide to them, completely free of charge, everything they need to participate in the activities of the Schools of Orchestras, including instruments, music stands, musical scores and last but by no means least, teachers. As the Schools of Orchestras become established and grow, cultural exchange is envisaged to become an integral part of the development of the project, building upon the international ties of Music for the Growing Mind.

Whilst we ask for no public funding, we do require that the local, county level governments make certain commitments that are essential for the operation of Music for the Growing Mind in their constituency.

As such the local governments involved agree to:

  • Acknowledge and share the essentially long-term character of the project
  • Grant the gratuitous and exclusive use of a venue for the operation of the School of Orchestra
  • Initiate and manage institutional relationships with superior level authorities, providing Music for the Growing Mind with the legal authorization to operate in their territory.