2012-2013 Annual Report

Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG) is the El Sistema-inspired, social change initiative that employs musical study and the related benefits as an anti-poverty intervention in chronically low-income communities in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ.

SCG builds communities of music makers that empower at-risk girls to occupy their unique position in creating a better world. Youth participants at regional sites in low-income communities build critical soft skills for school and life success and gain access to a quality, tuition-free music education program with a shared bottom line of musical excellence and positive youth development.

Mission StatementSister Cities Girlchoir builds communities of music makers that empower girls to occupy their unique position in creating a better world. 

Board of DirectorsJulianne BairdProfessor of MusicRutgers-Camden University

Karin CogerAttorneyLaw Offices of Styliades, Jackson & Burghardt

Fran Connollyformer Director of Human ResourcesWilliam Penn School District

Stacey CruiseChief Executive OfficerAmerican Paradigm Schools

Carol FrazierEducation Manager Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Tom Knoche Part-Time Lecturer, Urban StudiesRutgers-Camden University

Elizabeth OkakpuAmerican Paradigm SchoolsCity Year Alumnae

Dolores RedfearnRetired Educator

Victoria ViscontoEducatorKencrest Services, Inc.

Andrea WallsStudentRutgers-Camden University

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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2012-2013 Teaching Artist Team Page 4

From Our Founder Page 5The Girlchoir Movement Model Page 6

SCG Social Change Goals Page 8Pilot Year Results Page 9

Top 10 Performances Page 10Top 10 Trips Page 11

Top 10 Special Guests Page 12In the News Page 13

Finance Page 14Community Partners Page 15

Donors and Supporters Page 16

2012-2013 Teaching Artist Team

Music Teaching Artists

Alysia LeeSistema Fellow at New England Conservatory; Peabody Conservatory, Vocal Performance, M.M; Teaching Artist, Bloomingdale School of Music and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Roster Artist, Opus Nine Ensemble

Adrienne BishopInstructor, Settlement School of Music, Opera Company of Philadelphia Professional Chorus, Westminster Choir College, Music Education, B.M.

Jason SnyderWest Chester University, M.M. Choral Conducting

John GilmourDirector of Music, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church; Temple University, M.M. Music Education

Jessica PeytonFounder, New Brunswick Music Camp for underprivileged children; Rutgers University, Music Education, B.M.

Carli ViscontiTemple University, Vocal Performance and Music Education, B.M.

Kendra BalmerMusic Teacher, Universal Charter School; Temple University, Music Education, B.M.

Dance Teaching ArtistsKaren Pendergrassformer Principal Dancer, Philadanco

Sherrita MooreAfrican and Caribbean Folk Dance

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FROM OUR FOUNDER

Dear friends:

It is hard to believe that one year ago, Sister Cities Girlchoir was only a vision. I had a vision that we could embolden adolescent girls to build stronger communities with the power of music and sisterhood at the root. I met musicians, educators, funders and school administrators that caught hold of my vision and helped it to grow. What a difference a year makes!

Sister Cities Girlchoir had an incredible first year! The Girls have learned songs from a dozen countries, made countless new friends, and heard live music performances all over the region (many for the first time!). The Girls graced the airways of WHYY, and the pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer. We hosted visitors from Boston, New York, and all the way from Juneau, Alaska. Our year culminated in the Spring with a joint concert with Opera Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Singers in Center City, Philadelphia. It has been quite a ride!

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I F Y O U C H A N G E T H E P R O S P E C T S O F A N A D O L E S C E N T G I R L O N A B I G E N O U G H S C A L E , Y O U W I L L T R A N S F O R M S O C I E T I E S .

- - M A R K L O W C O C K , D F I D P E R M A N E N T S E C R E T A R Y

Girls are the most powerful force for change on the planet. SCG gives our Girls have the opportunity to join a musical community designed uniquely to unleash their potential as catalysts of change. SCG provides a safe-space for girls from low-income communities to build resilience, leadership, mastery and connection through the arts.

Did you know that Chorus America reports that high-arts, low-income youth are THREE times as likely to earn a Masters degree than their low-arts peers? The arts are such a powerful tool! We are proud to relay that our student evaluations show our Girls are indeed on the right track to becoming college-educated, leaders in their communities--our vision for girl empowerment through music is working.

Sister Cities Girlchoir is a movement. It's about leveraging the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves, their families, their communities, their countries and the world. It's about making girls visible and changing their social and economic dynamics by providing them with specific, powerful and relevant resources.

Thank you to everyone that has supported the Girlchoir by attending a concert, matchmaking us with wonderful volunteers, donating professional concert tickets, leading a Pilates class, chopping fruits and veggies for snacks, chaperoning a trip, donating money, buying a ‘Raise Your Voice’ t-shirt, folding programs, or joining us for early mornings on Super Saturdays. Your support made this year possible, and we have only just begun!

Sincerely,

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The Girlchoir Movement ModelSCG combines two powerful, research-based strategies for positive youth development, El Sistema and The Girl Effect.

What is the El Sistema?El Sistema is Venezuela’s monumental music for social change program. There is a network of over 500 music schools across the country, where 400,000 children, most of them living below the poverty line, are learning to play and sing together. Sistema is designed to cultivate social change and nurture promising futures in underserved communities through an intensive, ensemble-focused music education. Sistema has grown into a global movement, with programs launched in 25 countries and in

What is the Girl Effect?When a girl completes her education, learns healthy habits, and builds new skills, she is more likely to delay pregnancy until adulthood, have fewer and healthier children, and earn a higher income. When given the chance to grow into a woman and become an educated mother, an economic asset, an ambitious entrepreneur, or a prepared employee, she breaks the cycle of poverty for herself and sets new preventative factors in place for approaching generation of children in her family and her community.

In light of the central challenge of widespread, chronic poverty faced by the target communities of Camden, West Philadelphia and Kensington--SCG provides an intensive, girl-specific music program that aims to address and alleviate the IGT of poverty and the accompanying high-risk behaviors of academic failure, juvenile delinquency, adolescent pregnancy, and civic disengagement. While a music program is an unusual anti-poverty intervention, SCG contains the elements of strong girl-specific, youth development programming and the elements of quality music education programming that have been shown, independently, through research to improve youth outcomes that will indeed diminish high-risk behaviors and promote a shift in engagement in youth populations.

SCG has three regional sites in the following locations:NEW JERSEY

LEAP University Charter School, CamdenPHILADELPHIA

Memphis Street Academy, Kensington Mastery Charter School, Harrity Elementary School, West Philadelphia

SCG provides a weekly designated safe space for girls where participants can build supportive social networks; develop academic skills, and foster healthy habits while fully engaged in a choral training academy.  During the afterschool gap, girls receive tuition-free choral training for 32 weeks from September to May. The pilot program launched in September 2012, with 30 middle school girls at three community sites (total of 90 girls) and expands in the 2013-2014 Season to serve three additional community sites and more than 200 children. SCG sites are school communities where at least 85% of the student population is eligible for free or reduced lunch programs.

The structural goal is to build a pipeline of music education and positive youth development, offering programming for participants from Kindergarten through middle school at several regional sites and to launch a central high school program in Fall 2014. The high school program will also offer economic opportunity to student participants in the form of part-time Teaching Assistant positions.

SCG also offers monthly Super Saturdays programming to unite participants from the diverse regional sites for music rehearsal, guest visits, and student-led activities. SCG partner, Socially Savvy leads workshops on public speaking and contemporary etiquette. Opera Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Singers have supplied visits from their Teaching Artist roster to provide workshops on vocal production. Additionally, each Super Saturday culminates with a free community performance.

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SCG Social Change goals

PILOT YEAR RESULTS

• 100% of Coro Kensington @ Memphis Street Academy singers report an increase in our short-term benchmarks towards our long-term goals of college matriculation, high-

risk abstinence, civic engagement, and a positive self-concept. The Girls reported an increase in the following skills that they attributed to their participation in the program:

• problem solving confidence,• sense of purpose,

• friendship skills, and• teamwork skills.

Results from the Youth Outcomes Battery, a tested assessment tool developed by Jim Sibthorp and Gary Ellis of the American Camp Association.

• In May 2013, SCG partnered with Opera Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Singers(TPS) to produce a free community performance of Vivaldi’s GLORIA in Center City, Philadelphia. Roster Artists from the Opera performed all of the solo excerpts and TPS sang side-by-side with the Girlchoir for two selections.

• SCG formed strong partnerships with Opera Philadelphia and The Philadelphia

Singers. Both institutions represent the very finest in vocal performance in the region. The partnerships include free season tickets, site visits from Roster Artists, and a Spring collaborative performance. Youth participants also benefited from free ticket donations from the Mendelssohn Club, Astral Artists, Kimmel Center, Education Department, and Broadway Dreams.

• SCG indirectly served over 7500 people in the region through thirteen free community performances and twelve private performances for community partners. The Girlchoir performed for President George Bush, the City Council of Philadelphia and other notable persons.

• SCG was selected by Take A Stand(TAS), an initiative of the LA Philharmonic and Bard College as a site for their Fall 2012 Teaching Artist training series. TAS provided 12 hours of professional development on site for SCG Teaching Artist staff free of charge.

• SCG Founder, Alysia Lee was selected as a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Emerging

Leader—a cohort of emerging leaders in arts, environment and media from the New Jersey area. Page 9

#1. Spring Finale: Vivaldi’s Gloria in collaboration with Opera Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Singers, and Rocco Fiorentinohttp://scgvivaldi2013.tumblr.com

#2. Performing for President George Bush at the PGA/First Tee Galahttp://tinyurl.com/msyonc2

#3. Mt. Airy Art Garage’s International Women’s Day Celebrationhttp://tinyurl.com/ll37m33

#4. Knight Foundation sponsored Random Act of Culture with Opera Philadelphia at 30th Street Stationhttp://youtu.be/7OF7jXNIBjI

#5. National Association of University Women Brunchhttp://nauwbrunch2013.tumblr.com

#6. Union League Holiday Partyhttp://scgunionleague2012.tumblr.com

#7. Women Helping Women, hosted by Harriet Younghttp://tinyurl.com/mdoqd95

#8. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Annual Warmth in Winter Holiday Celebration

#9. BookMates Volunteer Appreciation ReceptionCherry Hill, NJ 

#10. MUSIC Festhttp://musicfest2012.tumblr.com

TOP 10 PERFORMANCESTOP 10 SCG performed for audiences throughout the region this year! SCG presents a free community concert series in our three target communities. The Girlchoir also was in high demand for private performances. Here are our Top 10 performances of the season!

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#1. Kimmel Center presentsSweet Honey in the Rockhttp://tinyurl.com/mux7tdb

#2. Astral Artists, Inspired by the Spiritualhttp://tinyurl.com/ls4p2dj

#3. Visit to Opera Company of Philadelphia’s La Bohemehttp://tinyurl.com/ld3z2f8

#4. The Mendelssohn Club presents Trinity: Moran and Brucknerhttp://tinyurl.com/m3yd2lz

#5. Visit to Opera Philadelphia’s Silent Nighthttp://tinyurl.com/lccdnn8

#6. The Philadelphia Singers: Alexander Nevsky6.#7. Super Saturdayshttp://tinyurl.com/l7ow77e

#8. Roller Skating at Cherry Hill Skating Rinkhttp://tinyurl.com/kq5jwes

#9. Kimmel Center, Simon Bolivar Orchestra7.#10. Girls Action Network Youth Leadership Conference at Temple University

8.

TOP 10 TRIPSThanks to the generosity of our partners, Opera Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Singers and more-- SCG was able to attend many live musical performances throughout the region. And we even got to take a few trips that were just for fun! Here are our Top 10 trips of the season!

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#1. Rocco Fiorentino Visits Harrityhttp://tinyurl.com/kwluydr1.#2. Hilary Brennan, Socially Savvyhttp://tinyurl.com/l7ow77e

#3. Opera Philadelphia Teaching Artistshttp://youtu.be/jc7641VYxwA4.#4. The Philadelphia Singers, Assistant Conductor Brian Schkeeperhttp://youtu.be/tVFrhn29lGY5.#5. New England Conservatory’s 4th Sistema Fellows cohort6.#6. Take A Stand, Lorrie Heagy visithttp://tinyurl.com/kk8onwh

#7. WHYY reporter, Mary Cummings-Jordan http://tinyurl.com/scgwhyyoct2012 7.#8. World-renowned soprano, Julianne Bairdhttp://tinyurl.com/msvmlso8.#9. Pilates with Janet Tech9.#10. Mom’s Quit Smoking Prevention Programhttp://tinyurl.com/lv7jj2d

TOP 10 SPECIAL GUESTS This year we had many distinguished guests visit our program and share their talents--be it musical or otherwise--with the Girls!

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Singers  from  Philadelphia  and  Camden  build  rela5onshipsNovember  13,  2012  By  Sally  FriedmanYoung  vocalists  from  Philadelphia,  Camden  create  promising  musical  rela5onship  through  Sister  Ci5es  Girlchoir

”By the Moorestown evening’s end, there was better understanding of what a Sister Cities Girlchoir can mean to pre-teen and teen girls in underserved areas, and how Philadelphia and Camden are coming together to raise their voices in harmony.”

http://tinyurl.com/scgcouriernov2012

Sister  Ci5es  choir  unites  Camden,  West  Philly  and  Kensington  girlsOctober  26,  2012  By  Mary  Cummings-­‐Jordan

"I've seen girls stand a little prouder, walk a little taller, care for each other and support each other," says Stacey Cruise, American Paradigm Schools CEO. Even though it's early days, she's already seeing a

difference.

http://tinyurl.com/scgwhyyoct2012                                                                                      

Looking  for  girls  that  like  to  singMay  3,  2012  By  Kevin  Riordan

The choir is a venue, Lee says, for music “to serve the people who need it the most. It gives children a chance to add beauty and grace to their lives, and to see the strength of their collective voice.”

http://tinyurl.com/scgphlinqmay2012

                 

May  3,  TED  Prize  BlogSistema  Choirs:  Collabora5on,  Excellence  &  Passion

“A choir is a phenomenal model of collaboration.  Singers are encouraged to produce their best work, individually and collectively.”

http://tinyurl.com/scgtedmay2012

In the News

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*Teaching Artists includes staff teaching

hours and professional development hours.

Teaching)Ar,sts)50%)

Administra,on)23%)

Student)Transporta,on)

12%)

Student)Learning)Supplies)11%)

Community)Performances)

2%)Meals)and)Snacks)

2%)

2012$2013&Expenses&Finance

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Astral Artists Kimmel Center, Inc.; Education DepartmentSocially Savvy/http://www.sociallysavvynj.comPhilly Transportation, LLCThe Mendelssohn ClubNational Alliance of El Sistema Inspired Programs

Community Partners

LEAP

Academy University Charter School

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Good Lad

Children’s Clothing

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Sister Cities Girlchoir launched in September 2012 in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ. 

$50,000 and up

$25,000 and up

$5,000 and upJane Davis Harriet Young

$2,500-$4,999Stacey CruiseAlfred and Mary Douty FoundationHenry and Anne Reich Family Foundation, Hilary ReichUnion Benevolent Association

$500-$2,499Bucks County Women's ChorusElaine GreenspanJoan KozarskyElisabeth Teller

$250-$499Jane & Jeffrey BulmanElaine GalmanKimberly HaddenThomas KnocheDolores RedfearnEmily Tisch Sussman, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination FundElizabeth Ventura

$100-$249Julianne BairdPatricia BasthemerJarvis BensonDr. Bonita BlazerMichael BlyMeredith & Seth BroderFran ConnolyGayle Coopersmith Gold Gerstein GroupJudith GoldmanLinda HamiltonHal HarperElinor HechtGail LipsteinDr. Yelena LitvinenkoDonna Miller, St. Georges UMCGloria McGilberryChristine PulliamEric RanellettiLisa ReichScott RoewerKristina SchliesmanMary Frances Schnorr Gerald Schreiber FoundationFaith & Tyler ScrivenSusanah Zimmerman

up to $99 AnonymousJennifer AustinLouis & Heather AcherJena AppolonLorrayne Baird LangeDerek BasthemerTyanisa Bell-DavisEliza BroderAisha Bowden and David FranceElyse CaudillForrest CliftKarin CogerTrina CookMegan D'ArianoJulie Lockwood DavisLiz DiamondSue EdelmanScott EttingerMitchell FergusonColleen FischerBen FullerMichele Gariepy

Donors and Supporters

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Annette GaudinoDavid Gracia-BeltranGail GormleyThe Handlon FamilyJose HerstradaVirginia HeckerStephanie HsuLaura JekelJennifer KesslerElsje Kibler-Vermaas Jon KnollKatherine KrullerSherrona LawrenceZollie Lee, Jr. Jennifer LernerJoan LlenezaJenn LongKaty LuoKristine MagargeeTiedra MarshallCaitlin MawhinneyColleen McCAvi MehtaMeryl Melnikoff Jenn MercierEric B. MillerJustin MonizKatie MooreMary MurphyAmy OjerholmOmega Psi Phi Inc. Nu Upsilon Chapter, Wilmington, DEAlbert OppenheimerAmy OppenheimerDelia Raab-SnyderYolanda RansomPaisley RichardBarry RobinsonJudith RuttenbergSheryl SamterElizabeth SchurginMegan D'ArianoCarole SheaChelsea SheltonKen SkreszDebbie & Duane SmithSoul InkStandard TapEden Stone Dr. Christopher Thomas Thread Makes Blanket Press

Matthew TrussThe Vega FamilyVictoria ViscontoAndrea WallsArline WallsStephen WallsJeffrey WatersKrystal WatsonNneka White Sherron WilliamsonMichael Wright

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Sister Cities GirlchoirPO Box 15277

Philadelphia, PA 19125Phone: 909.4SISTER

www.SisterCitiesGirlchoir.org

Email: info@SisterCitiesGirlchoir.orgBlog: sistercitiesgirlchoir.wordpress.comFacebook: SisterCitiesGirlchoirTwitter: @SCGirlchoirPinterest: SisterCities GirlchoirInstagram: scgirlchoirYouTube: Sister Cities Girlchoir