Scarsdale Strings Transforms Children’s Lives Through Music
By Jon Craig
With school districts increasingly trimming funding of music programs, a Westchester non-profit has intensified its efforts to introduce young children to instruments throughout the tri-state region.
Anna Stampfli, founder of Scarsdale Strings Cares, has been able the transform the lives of an estimated 3,000 students including children from Ardsley, Bedford, Briarcliff, Eastchester, Edgemont, Harrison, Hartsdale, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Rye, Scarsdale and White Plains.
Stampfli, a violinist for more than 40 years, said she believes “music expands the mind of the child.” Her programs currently operate in 50 schools and reach children as young as the age of 3.
On January 25, Scarsdale Strings Cares will co-produce the Seventh Annual Outreach Benefit Concert for Children at the SUNY Purchase Recital Hall. All proceeds from the 7:30 p.m. concert, titled “Transforming the Lives of Children Through Music, will go toward the Westchester Jewish Community Center’s afternoon programs, to the Children’s Aid Society Wagon Road Camp and to Scarsdale Strings.
In recent weeks, area children have been practicing at Westchester Reform Temple, bringing the halls alive with music conducted by Justin Bischof of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra of New York City. A generous gift from the Siegel Family Foundation provided instruments and instruction for a new violin program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Stampfli said she aims to provide music instruction to school districts that face fiscal pressure and have either lost or do not have music education programs. “My mission is to bring back this valuable educational programming to all schools and communities, aiding those who cannot afford to support it,’’ she said.
Scarsdale Strings currently operates programs in more than 50 schools offering instruction in violin, viola, cello, guitar, percussion and keyboards. She recently added brass, woodwinds and voice lessons.
For more details, go to www.scarsdalestrings.com or www.scarsdalestringscares.org on the Internet. Stampfli also can be reached at 914-269-7946.
Tickets to the benefit concert can be purchased by calling 914-251-6200 or online at www.artscenter.org/tickets
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
