The Center for Music National Service

MNS works closely with local communities to identify high-need sites where MusicianCorps Mentors and Service Artists can make a great impact. Currently, MusicianCorps Bay Area serves students and youth throughout San Francisco and Oakland with ongoing music instruction and service opportunities:

In the Lake Merritt Community of Oakland, MC Mentor Hernando Buitrago teaches guitar, composition and performance to students at MetWest High School. The MetWest student population is 50% Latino, 30% African American, 7% White and 13% Asian American. Seventy percent of the school's students qualify for free or reduced price meals.

Working with a primarily ELL population in the Fruitvale Neighborhood of Oakland, MC Service Artist Kate Fiano develops student literacy through songwriting, and cultivates creative expression for students at Think College Now (TCN), an elementary school located in the Cesar Chavez Education Center. 57% of TCN students are English-language learners and 95% live at or near the poverty line.

In 2010-11, MC Mentor Mikki Boyd worked both in school and afterschool in the Dimond District of Oakland, where she taught drumming, creative expression and basic accompaniment to students at Sequoia Elementary. 22% of Sequoia’s students are English-language learners, and 43% receive free or reduced price meals.

In the Excelsior District of San Francisco, MC Mentor Hernando Buitrago cultivated an arts integration curriculum in 2010-11 to introduce math concepts in music instruction, and also created rock bands both in school and afterschool with students at June Jordan School for Equity. The school was founded in 2003 by Small Schools for Equity, a non-profit organization formed by a group of teachers, parents, and students. 47% of the students at JJSE are Latino and 30% are African American. 62% receive free or reduced lunch.

In the heart of the Mission District, Hernando is creating rock bands during school hours for the middle school students at Buena Vista Horace Mann, a newly merged K-8 school. He also implements lunchtime jam sessions and provides private lessons for students during elective periods in order to reach more students at this service site. Kate Fiano will serve the younger grades (K-3) as an MNS Service Artist.

In the historic Haight Ashbury Neighborhood of San Francisco, MC Mentor Meagan Hughes serves as the sole music therapist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and is concurrently expanding the MusicianCorps Health and Wellness program. Meagan serves the hospital’s Child Life Department, including the Marie Wattis School, which is part of San Francisco Unified School District.

Learn more about MusicianCorps' Health and Wellness Initiative