Split the Plate is one of UUCW’s programs of outreach and generosity. Each month we give half of all undesignated offering monies to a non-profit organization as a way to help us live our Unitarian Universalist values and serve our community.
The national award-winning Latino Arts Strings Program (LASP) was established in the fall of 2002 at the United Community Center (UCC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is housed in the Bruce-Guadalupe Community School (BGCS). Created and directed by Dinorah Marquez, this pre-college music training program provides Latino students with instruments, music materials, individual lessons, small group and orchestra, and mariachi ensemble lessons every week, all for a fee of $65 per school year.
The program reaches more than 200 children ages five through eighteen that may otherwise never have the opportunity to receive serious music instruction. LASP began with 26 students in 2002 and now serves over 200 students in violin, viola, cello, bass, and guitar. In addition to giving several solo recitals during the year, LASP students participate in one or more ensembles, which includes a “Latino Youth Orchestra,” one of four mariachi groups, and varied chamber ensembles.
Under the instruction of 10 teachers, students receive a solid technical foundation and classical training. However, technique development is acquired through the exploration of various forms of Latin American folk music, which we lovingly refer to as “from Bamba to Bach” or “from Mariachi to Mozart.”
The most recent performances by Latino Arts Strings have included invitations to perform at the Inauguration of Governor Tony Evers and at the Martin Luther King Jr.’s 90th birthday celebration at the Marcus Center.
For additional information, please contact Split the Plate member Pat Rierson.
