Greater Milwaukee El Sistema Gala Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction

GMES Gala Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction

Greater Milwaukee El Sistema

Greater Milwaukee El Sistema strives to build community through music education in conjunction with the goals of the original El Sistema, Venezuela, which now serves over 400,000 children throughout Venezuela.  The Greater Milwaukee El Sistema is among the pioneers of El Sistema USA, which has joined forces with the global El Sistema phenomenon.  Greater Milwaukee El Sistema targets children who are of low to moderate socio-economic backgrounds and is open to all children in 2nd through 5th grades regardless of socio-economic background.

Now in our third year as an after school program at Hadfield Elementary School, Waukesha, we provide three days a week of musical instruction from highly trained professional musicians.  In addition to music, we emphasise community, respect, teamwork, collaboration and mentoring between students and their families.  The current cost for program membership is twenty-five dollars for the entire year, although one year of this type of music instruction generally costs up to $2000.00 per child.  We do not turn any child away who desires to successfully participate in our program.  Through our partnership with White House of Music, our students receive instrument rentals and repairs.   Students are provided with opportunities to share their musical gifts through community performance.  Upon graduation of our program students are encouraged to stay and mentor younger students and to participate in middle school orchestras as well as our developing partnership with Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.

All donations are tax-deductible and provide our students with professional teachers, high-quality instruments, music, musical resources, money for field trips, teacher education and training, and program leadership. While we also seek to raise money at a grass-roots level, we depend on the generous support of community businesses and private donors.