Uptown Music Collective matched a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts grant awarded in late September, which will make some ideas a reality.
The school concluded its fundraising campaign in early November by completing an online "chip-in" campaign, which raised the $5,000 goal in a month, said David Brumbaugh, Uptown executive director.
The other half of the match came through the support of the Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts in the form of a gift put together through the foundation from five individuals.
Uptown received the $10,000 grant after the National Endowment for the Arts called the organization because it had been seeking to offer grants for under-served areas.
The collective had three weeks to put an application together, which included explaining different ways the money would be used to help the school.
The funds will be used to build a small project recording studio that students can use for free. Funds also will support the Accelerated Music Mentoring Program and general education programs through curriculum development, smart-board technology and the creation of an ear training lab.
Students will be be allowed to record whatever they want and they will have as long as they want to finish the project in the soundproof recording studio. Lengths of time will vary depending on the students' skills and perfectionism.
They can record a single song, or if they want to put the time into it, they can make their own CD.
Students in the Accelerated Music Mentoring Program are accepted for their interest in the education form.
"We put them all together in one group," Brumbaugh said. "There's a different subject each semester, This semester is songwriting and ear training."
Ear training is not something the students particularly like, but Brumbaugh knows the necessity of it. Ear training software helps musicians learn how to hear a chord and recognize what it is.
"(The students) are very excited about the studio," Brumbaugh said. "They're probably not as excited about the ear training. It's the musical broccoli."
By having an ear-training lab, students will be able to practice the skill more.
The smart-board will allow for advanced technology while teaching, such as what is used in schools already.
The smart-board technology and ear training lab are expected to be implemented by January, in time for the new semester at Uptown.
The recording studio will take a little bit longer to complete.
"By February, it all will be in place," Brumbaugh said.
Parents and the community have been extremely supportive in helping with the chip-in campaign because it will help the students, he said.
"I would have loved (the studio) as a kid," he said.
Receiving the grant had been an opportunity to make some of the ideas for the school possible.
"They are things I always wanted to do," Brumbaugh said. "There's no shortage of ideas. There's shortage of money. We know what we want to do with the kids."
By having a recording studio, it gives the students an opportunity to gain experience and expertise in recording.
All Brumbaugh wish for his students is that they learn the ability to produce music and they enjoy doing so.
