At a time when budget cuts are threatening the future of music and art instruction at many area schools, DePaul University and De Diego Community Academy, a Chicago public school, have established a partnership that offers the school’s children free weekly music lessons and provides DePaul music students practical experience teaching in a real classroom.

Led by DePaul School of Music faculty member Catherine Larsen, the two-year-old program in the Humboldt Park neighborhood grammar school offers more than 450 first-through-fourth graders lessons in music taught by college students who are studying to be music teachers at DePaul. The culmination of this year’s program will be a musical performance by De Diego students June 3 from noon to 1:15 p.m. at the grammar school, 1313 N. Claremont Ave. De Diego parents and program faculty from DePaul will attend. Groups of children will show what they have learned in song, chant and performance on classroom percussion instruments and recorders.

Through the program, children learn general music concepts and vocabulary through singing, movement and recorder playing, as well as how to listen to, analyze and create music, according to Judy Bundra, associate dean of the School of Music.

“This is a nationally recognized program that is a win-win initiative for both institutions,” she said. “Our students get as much out of it as the De Diego students. We’re enhancing music knowledge and skills of the children in a program led by DePaul student education majors who are closely supervised by faculty at the School of Music. In return, the DePaul students receive extremely valuable, real world lab experience.” The DePaul students are upper level students studying for bachelor’s degrees in music education or teacher certificates.

The De Diego school has a music teacher – DePaul alumnus Jeff Peek – for students in the fifth grade or higher, but it would not have music instruction for its younger pupils if the DePaul partnership did not exist, said Misael Alonso, De Diego’s principal. “Because of our partnership with DePaul, we can provide consistent, high-quality music lessons for these children. The children love it. The DePaul students bring a lot of enthusiasm and liveliness to the classroom. It also helps our students on the ISAT (Illinois Standards Achievement Test), which has questions about music.”

Editor’s Note: Media interested in covering the Thursday concert and interviewing De Diego students, parents, staff and DePaul students and faculty involved in the program should call Robin Florzak, DePaul director of media relations at (312) 362-8592.