The Salvation Army, East Chicago Corps has helped countless people in the community through the various programs and activities that it offers. One of the programs that help young people in particular is the School of Music.
The School of Music has been in place at the Salvation Army since 2010. At that point, it was just a group of four kids playing with trumpets. Since then, the program has grown to over 20 students learning a variety of musical skills from teachers in structured classes.
These students also get the opportunity to show their talents weekly at the worship service on Sundays as well as at various concerts and events throughout the year. Some students even get to compete for scholarships to study at other music schools and camps around the country.
However, the main goal of the program is to educate kids in music and give them something positive to do outside of school. One student who was particularly impacted by the Salvation Army School of Music is Rick Argumedo.
Rick participated in one of the earlier classes offered at the School of Music and chose to focus his efforts on the trumpet. At first he was amazed and a little nervous. He was in a class where he didn’t know any of the other kids, but he was very excited to be able to use the Salvation Army’s trumpet, as he didn’t have one of his own at home.
Rick continued to play the trumpet with the program and even began to perform at some of the concerts and events in front of large crowds of people. Teachers in the program noted that he was very dedicated and became more confident each session. After spending some time in the program, Rick even got a trumpet of his own so he could practice whenever he wanted.
The School of Music at the Salvation Army, East Chicago Corps has been helping kids just like Rick to become more positive, skilled and confident through musical expression for years and plans to continue to do so as long as there are kids to participate.
Image Source: salvationarmysouth.org
