The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) announced today that the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory is the recipient of the 2018 Kris Sinclair Leadership Award for its Community Opus Project, a music education program for elementary students.

This award is named after Kris Sinclair who was the executive director of the ACSO for 31 years and is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent and measurable leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.

“We are proud of the work the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory has done to ensure year-round music instruction for the 30,000 elementary students in the Chula Vista Elementary School District,” said Mitch Menchaca, executive director of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. “The Community Opus Project is a great model of an educational partnership between school districts, orchestras, and community organizations. It is a wide-reaching response to a critical education gap in our public schools, and it demonstrates that music education contributes positively to the whole development of a child.”

The Community Opus Project includes after school instrumental orchestra and band programs for students in Chula Vista. Musicians meet together with a team of Teaching Artists – all professional musicians and educators – for two hours of music instruction, twice per week. Classes meet at five elementary schools and are open to students from any Chula Vista school.

With the Sinclair Award award comes a $5,000 prize which the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory will invest in professional development training for their teaching artists and staff members involved with the project.