Newsletter

Midnight Special: Guitar at The Midnight Mission

May 19, 2022

In April, Street Symphony launched its first small group music instruction class at our long time partner organization, The Midnight Mission: Midnight Strings is a 12 week long guitar instruction class led by our dear friend, Philip Graulty. It has been a dream of ours to convene a small group program at TMM, and it has been an honor to be a witness (and participant) of Midnight Strings.

Happy spring!

April 23, 2022

April has brought us into celebrations of new life in Skid Row: a new weekly guitar class at The Midnight Mission and an Easter Celebration, drumming and dancing in the parks and Refresh Spot, and an upcoming event featuring our amazing Jazz band, lead by saxophonist Dave Sills.

New Year, New Opportunity!

January 26, 2022

Dear Friends, The new year has brought a new opportunity to understand pause, and momentum. Pause, because our hopes for starting a fresh new year seem to continue adapting – but momentum, because the incredible wellspring of support, encouragement and love from all of you gives us tremendous hope to keep going…

Standing in the gap

December 23, 2021

Dear Friends, I’ve been thinking recently about the idea of ‘standing in the gap’, a sort of theological offering from my friend Duane Garcia. Duane, who spent several decades of his life incarcerated in a California prison, talks about the call for all people – artists, musicians, citizens – to stand in the gap of what is broken…

A Voice for connection

November 2, 2021

Dear Street Symphony Family, In the summer of 2014, my life change profoundly; I approached Vijay with an idea to bring singers into the Street Symphony family of musicians. After several meetings, observations of events, and emails wrangling my friends and colleagues from the Los Angeles Master Chorale to join me…

Welcome New Board Members!

August 18, 2021

Dear Street Symphony Family, I am so excited to share incredibly exciting news! After over a year of intentional strategic planning, conversations, and relationship building, Street Symphony is honored to welcome Nancy Ibrahim, Luis Garcia, and Walter Zooi to our Board of Directors. Nancy, Luis, and Walter are mavericks and trailblazers in their respective fields…

We are all in Reentry

June 30, 2021

Last week, Los Angeles County reopened, and an old life came rushing back in: traffic (worse than ever), the blistering heat, a schedule spiraling back into an old pattern – how many appointments can I pack into one day? In moments like this, it’s important to remember the lessons from our weekly “Music for Change” program, a process group for people paroled from life sentences in prison…

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Gratitude from the Streets of Los Angeles

May 26, 2021

On Friday March 27, 2011 I walked/crawled through the doors of the Midnight Mission in Skid Row after losing everything due to alcohol and drug addiction. As I reflect on coming up on 10 years free from any substance due to a spiritual program of rigorous action, music, and running…

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As We Re-enter In Person Programming

April 27, 2021

Dear Street Symphony Family, As we continue to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, I want to express my gratitude for the invitation and mentorship I have received from the Skid Row community. Through the work of Street Symphony, I have been invited to join a community invigorated by artistry and connection…

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10 Year Anniversary!

March 24, 2021

Dear friends and family! Today, Street Symphony turns 10 years old. 10 years! In 2011, I started an outreach concert series playing in the basement conference room of a mental health clinic in Skid Row. I could hardly imagine the sense of community, awe, and connection that Street Symphony has cultivated – not just for the Skid Row community of Los Angeles – but for me…

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