Focus Area: Early Childhood

Grant Amount: $7,500

Based in St. Paul, serves St. Paul and Minneapolis. Established in 1988, Walker West may be the oldest community music school in the nation founded by African American musicians. It is an out-of-school-time, nonprofit music school based in the African American community in St. Paul that teaches instrumental and vocal music to students ages 5 to adult. It teaches all styles of music, but is especially well-known for jazz, gospel, and other styles of improvisational music. It provides affordable, quality music instruction inspired by the African American cultural experience. Many of its students have gone on to study at top music conservatories and perform professionally.

Grant supports a new Afrocentric early childhood music program, created by Walker West, piloted at the Mary T. Wellcome Center in north Minneapolis, and expanded last year to the Hallie Q. Brown Center in St. Paul. Through songs, playing instruments, creative movement, visual arts, and literature, children learn about musical concepts and boost their social-emotional development. The curriculum is trauma-informed. Classes are 30 minutes weekly and held in 5 classrooms between the 2 schools.