The Sound of Culture

The Problem:

With funding for the arts continuously decreasing to the New York City Department of Education, The Sound of Culture is a modern music curriculum that brings cultural awareness through music education. 

For the historically high amount of ELL students in the public-school systems, there is a lack of programming that can promote culture, unity, and language through music. Public Schools in New York City are in desperate need of an art program that can impact ALL students and significantly help underprivileged students in social and emotional learning. 

Overview:

The Sound of Culture allows each school to spotlight cultures specific to their student body: For example, Mesopotamia, or today’s Middle East, where percussion can be traced to over 6,000 years ago. Africa, where evidence of drumming dates to 500 AD and Latin America, where during the 1500’s, a unique mixture of indigenous people, African slaves and Europeans integrated. 

With this special clinic, students start by learning the history of a civilization and the role that music played in everyday life. They then learn one percussive rhythm or beat for each of the cultures to go along with their historical context. 

This fun, immersive, clinic lasts one period per session. With a class receiving a weekly lesson for the entire school year. We have developed a model meant to be shared with every single student in the school. A second option allows the school to hand select a single class or entire department to take part in the clinic. This can be offered to special education students, or even as a reward for honors students.

Goals:

• To use the power of the arts to engage students while teaching them about their heritage. 

• To inspire kids, particularly underprivileged, to learn an instrument and continue playing music. 

• For students to see both the diversity and similarities in different historical cultures through the unifying force of music.

After a successful pilot program conducted from November 2025 - March 2026, the plan is to begin scaling how more students can get access to this curriculum. Harper House Music Foundation is honored to support this important effort!

Website coming soon.