Boston musician spreads love of playing classical music to children in underserved communities
BOSTON - A Black musician has made it his mission to connect kids in underserved neighborhoods in Boston with classical music.
Reaching kids in underrepresented communities
"I was curious to look at it and what's inside a cello, what's these little holes and strings. After listening to a certain piece I was like, oh yeah, it's so good," said 12-year-old cellist Malik Mason Williams II.
He got hooked on classical music because of a program called Project STEP, or String Training Education Program.
"Supporting students that are traditionally underrepresented in classical music. Black, Latinx, Haitian in our community," said Project STEP Artistic Director Dr. Ian Saunders.
At Project STEP, students as young as 6 years old come to the Boston Symphony Orchestra every Saturday and learn pretty much free of charge how to play their instruments. They also have chamber groups and perform seasonal concerts.
"I like Project STEP because they always give opportunities for students to join, especially little kids, like focus program. It's good for kids to learn about movement and listening to notes," said Malik.
For Saunders, Project STEP is his passion and purpose. He's had an interest in classical music as early as kindergarten. He's classically trained and earned a college scholarship to Penn State. He's since performed around the world.
Looking to expand the program
"The reason why STEP is near and dear is because I feel like, for me to get to where I am, I was fortunate enough to have a lot of great people in my corner and mentors to guide me to where I am today. And it's important for me to give back," said Saunders.
Project STEP has been around for 42 years and they have 56 students enrolled in the program. They want to expand to more than 100 students a year but the challenge is they need more space.
"We can't work with as many students as we would like," said Saunders. "We're very fortunate to be in this historic building and incredible building at Symphony Hall but this program is incredible and should be shared with more students across Boston."
Malik said Project STEP will help him achieve his ultimate goal.
"I want to be a police officer so eventually I can help out the community, say hi to little kids and teach them what it's like," said Malik.
