The Sacramento State String Project

Sacramento State's String Project, now in its twenty third year of operation, has established a remarkable track record of success in fulfilling its dual mission of providing low-cost, high-quality string instruction, mostly to underserved children while providing world class teacher training to university music students, who are the teachers of the future. We have trained more than 100 music teachers since our inception, and our alumni are currently teaching music at schools throughout Northern California and beyond.  During their service in the String Project, those teacher-trainees have given more than 1000 Sacramento-area children the opportunity to learn to play a string instrument, a motivating and mentally focusing challenge whose academic, cultural, and social advantages extend far beyond the recital hall. These benefits are now manifesting themselves in a dramatic way, as the first generation of children we introduced to instrumental music have reached college age and, have graduated and in many cases were the first members of their family to enroll.  The likely influence of their String Project experience on this trend seems evidenced by the fact that a number of them are also playing in their university orchestras.  Some have gone on to teach in String Projects while in college and others who learned in our String Project are teaching at String Projects at Sacramento State and elsewhere.  Some of our graduates have gone on to start music programs of their own in inner cities in California and other parts of the country.  The String Project is part of the College of Arts and Letters, the largest college at Sacramento State that includes ten departments ranging from the fine and performing arts to the humanities, modern languages and history.  We seek to lead the university and work with the community with regard to the content, approach and experience of a university education.