Founded in 1980, Javacya Arts Conservatory (JAC) is a college preparatory institute for ages 3 to 18. A leading advocate for diversity and inclusion in the performing arts in the States and abroad, JAC consistently provides life developing opportunities through formal training and discipline through music.
Today, 17 children are waiting for a violin, and 5 children are waiting for a cello.
We refuse to hand these children inadequate, broken tools. Our youth deserve the dignity of a beautiful sound. To purchase quality instruments outfitted with the upgraded strings required for proper classical training, the cost is:
$350 to sponsor one complete violin
$750 to sponsor one complete cello
To place an instrument in the hands of all 22 waiting children, we must raise $9,700. If you know Javacya, you know our foundational belief: "They're more than music lessons. They're life-changing experiences." For a child navigating the challenges of poverty, a violin isn't just wood and wire—it is a lifeline. It is an alternative to the streets. It is a tool to express the pain and joy they cannot put into words. As we teach them to play, we are wrapping them in a tenderness that says, "You are seen. You are protected. You are more than enough." But we cannot do that if we have nothing to physically place in their hands. We cannot leave 22 children waiting at the door of opportunity because of a financial barrier.
Past Arts-In-The-Heart Special Guests
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Amadi Azikiwe
Violin/Viola
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Noel Wan
Harpist
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Darryl Tookes
Singer/Songwriter/Producer/Teacher
Arts-in-the-Heart Concert Series
Diversity Matters
Black players make up less than 2% of the nation’s orchestras, and the Metropolitan Opera existed for 138 years before it presented its first opera by a Black composer in 2021, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” by Terence Blanchard.
Diversity Rule
Because of the exclusion of people of color in classical music from the 19th century through the present, Javacya exists. We, the Javacya Board of Directors, believe that artists' diversity within classical music should be the rule and not the exception.
Through education and performance, Javacya, standing on numerous other leaders' shoulders, has taken a commanding leadership role to support professional classical Black, Indigenous, and people of color in classical music's professional field to champion their value, historical contributions, and relevance.
Our end goal is to enlighten modern societies about the normalcy of high-caliber professional people of color in classical music. A catalyst for change, the artists represented in the Arts-In-The-Heart Concert Series reflect the communities in which we live. Diversity is the rule.
Noteworthy
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Javacya Elite Chamber Principal Violist Hope Ward set out to raise $20,000 for students requiring assistance to attend Javacya Arts Conservatory and I-9 Sports Academy. The campaign began in August 2020. Thus far, she has raised over $8,000."
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As a child, concert violinist and professor Elwyn A. Adams was a musical prodigy of some notoriety in the African American community of Cleveland, Ohio, where he was born on August 3, 1933. At age five he gave his first violin recital at East Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and at age seven he could be heard on local radio.
ELWYN ALBERT ADAMS (1933-1995)
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Violist Meredith Harris conducted a masterclass via Zoom on bow usage and vibrato for students at Javacya Arts Conservatory.
Sponsors & Partners
