A finite moment can create infinite possibilities.
As director of bands at Alexander Local Schools, Lindsay Van Winkle (BMED ’08) encourages her students to expand their musical horizons and try new instruments. But it was one performance—by Grammy Award-winning Third Coast Percussion—that finally struck a note with her students, prompting one young percussionist to say, “I want to be able to do that.”
That performance—held at the school, free of charge—was made possible by OHIO’s Performing Arts in Education Fund. Established by an anonymous $1 million donation and supported by fellow donors, the fund brings arts, culture and infinite moments of inspiration to Ohio University and Southeastern Ohio.
Supporting a residency program that brings visiting artists to campus and community, the fund allows individuals to experience the sights, sounds and very essence of creative expression and expands the reach of OHIO’s Performing Arts Series, created 60 years ago to address the community’s need for more cultural programming.
During academic year 2017-18, the Performing Arts in Education Fund supported 47 outreach activities, impacting the lives of 7,100 students. Students and faculty in OHIO’s College of Fine Arts engaged in master classes and workshops, learning from and collaborating with world-class artists. Students in local K-12 schools were treated to classroom visits from these artists and trips to campus to experience their performances.
“Many of my students are on free and reduced lunch, below poverty level, and would never have the opportunity to experience these things,” Van Winkle says. “For me to be able to have them learn from professional musicians and even experience a performance just means so much.”