Diller-Quaile's Outreach Department
Through its Outreach Programs, Diller-Quaile nurtures its relationship with the extended community. Since 1973, the Summer Music Study Program (SMSP) has provided music education to the children and teachers of New York City's publicly-funded day care and after-school centers in Central and East Harlem. Using a rich repertoire of international folk music drawn from the many cultures of our world, the five-week program develops the participants' musical skills and abilities. The SMSP culminates with a vibrant festival of song and dance.
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Initiated in the mid-1980s, the Outreach Teacher Training courses–later evaluated and recommended by the National CCRS (National College Credit Recommendation Service) for undergraduate and graduate credit–teach day care center instructors how to integrate music into the early childhood classroom. Teachers gain an understanding of the musical development of young children, and acquire skills and strategies for implementing an engaging folk music curriculum. While these semester courses are taught at the School, an added component of the program, the Partnership Program (begun in 1995), provides classroom music sessions, on-site mentoring, and staff workshops to several participating day care centers in Harlem. Additionally, students enrolled in neighboring day care centers are encouraged to attend weekend Rug Concerts with their families.
Classical Access (created in 1994) brings the Diller-Quaile String Quartet to an after-school center in Harlem, the Lillian Weber Dual Language School for Environmental Arts (P.S. 84), to students from underserved communities throughout New York City participating in Juilliard's Saturday morning Music Advancement Program (MAP), and to three New York Public Libraries in the Bronx and Harlem as a part of their Family Concert Series. Designed as an introduction to chamber music for groups of children, these residencies are a series of informal, hands-on presentations at each institution.
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The Diller-Quaile/Burden Center for the Aging Partnership (formed in 2000) provides older adults with opportunities for growth and personal fulfillment through music. The School leads a weekly singing group for the Carter-Burden Luncheon Club and Senior Program, and the Diller-Quaile String Quartet performs chamber music concerts at the Center throughout the year. Through the Diller-Quaile/Mount Sinai Hospital Program (begun in 2003), the School's resident flute and guitar ensemble, the Arc Duo, shares music with the patients, staff, and visitors at Mount Sinai Medical Center. These concerts take place in an open atrium setting where the music is appreciated by patients, staff, and visitors, including those who happen to be passing by, or those who are drawn to the healing music of flute and guitar.
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In keeping with its mission and its belief that music is in everyone and for everyone, Diller-Quaile is strongly committed to providing need-based financial assistance through its Scholarship Fund.
Diller-Quaile is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that relies on contributions to its Annual Fund each year to help bridge the gap between tuition revenues and expenses. The Annual Fund allows the School to keep tuition increases to a minimum while maintaining its superb faculty, program excellence, community outreach, and Scholarship Fund.
