Mara Quinn, Rachel Koller, and Lilia Trissler
Three musicians at La Salle Academy in Providence, RI, didn’t want financial limitations to prohibit young students from playing instruments, so Lilia Trissler ‘12, Rachel Koller ‘13 and Mara Quinn ‘13 started Clarinets for Kids.
They launched the after school program in the spring of 2011 for Sophia Academy and expanded it to the San Miguel School in early 2012. They girls shared their love of music by teaching students how to have fun while learning to play the clarinet. The program took off thanks to donations from La Salle’s alumni board and others.
“Clarinets for Kids was started so the three of us could use our musical talent to help the community around us. It’s proven that students who study music are more successful both in the classroom and in life, than those who don’t study music,” said Rachel. “This program will enrich the lives of these students by giving them something to work for and a sense of accomplishment. The sense of accomplishment is important in young students because it gets them motivated to continue.”
“Throughout this past year, working with the five students from the San Miguel School taught me so much about myself and what I can do for others,” said Lilia. “Every week, I really looked forward to working with the kids and sharing my passion with younger students. I liked seeing how the students progressed over the past nine months.”
The program ended the school year with a concert, which gave the young musicians reason to be proud. The younger students are looking forward to participating again next year, and the La Salle students are looking for more volunteers to teach so they can increase the number of students they serve.