Giving Tuesday
2025-12-02
This #GivingTuesday we are raising funds to send our students to NYC!

Tuesday, December 2, 2025
HELP OUR MUSICIANS TAKE THE STAGE IN NYC!
Double Your Impact This Giving Tuesday!
We’re thrilled to announce that two generous anonymous donors have pledged to match all gifts—up to a total of $10,000—made to Project STEP’s Touring Fund before, on, or after Giving Tuesday (December 2, 2025). That means every dollar you give helps us get one step closer to our $20,000 goal, supporting transformative touring opportunities for our students. Gifts beyond this goal will directly support Project STEP’s Annual Fund, ensuring our mission continues to thrive year-round.

This April 2026, approximately 20 of our Project STEP students will embark on an unforgettable journey: their very first tour—to New York City! This milestone trip will give our students the rare opportunity to connect with peers from the Opportunity Music Project in NYC, collaborating in rehearsals and culminating in a joint concert performance that celebrates both musical excellence and the power of community.
But this tour is much more than just a performance—it’s a life-changing educational and cultural experience.
For many of our students, this will be their first time traveling out of state as part of a musical ensemble. Touring opens doors that cannot be replicated in a classroom: it teaches independence, builds confidence, and allows young musicians to understand what it means to share their art on a broader stage. They’ll learn how to adapt to new environments, work intensively with new collaborators, and rise to the challenge of performing in unfamiliar venues.
HELP OUR MUSICIANS TAKE THE STAGE IN NYC!
In New York City, our students will:

Attend concerts by world-class musicians, inspiring them to see what’s possible through dedication and passion.
Visit iconic cultural landmarks, deepening their understanding of the arts within a broader societal and historical context.
Visit the renowned Manhattan School of Music, offering a glimpse into the life of a conservatory student and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Experiences like these are essential in shaping the next generation of artists, leaders, and cultural ambassadors. For our students—who come from underrepresented communities in classical music—this tour is not only a celebration of how far they’ve come, but a powerful motivator for where they can go.
We need your support to make this tour possible. Your contribution will help cover the costs of travel, lodging, meals, and access to enriching activities that will inspire and empower these talented young musicians.
Invest in the future of music. Invest in our students.
Above Photo by Matthew Muise

Celebrity Series Stringfest– Edmar Colón
2025-12-13 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Kroc Center, 650 Dudley Street, Dorchester, 02125, United States
Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Salvation Army Kroc Center
650 Dudley Street, Boston, MA 02125
Stringfest performances provide children in local string education programs with opportunities to learn from and perform alongside professional artists. Stringfest programs are open to the public, and the Celebrity Series invite you to witness the magic that unfolds when young musicians engage with dynamic, world-class performers!
Puerto Rican-born, Boston-based saxophonist Edmar Colón is a red-hot young jazz bandleader and composer who is a frequent leader and guest artist on Celebrity Series stages. Most recently heard alongside Rob Kapilow in a 2025 What Makes it Great? presentation about Simon & Garfunkel, Colón can play it all!
Colón and his Ensemble team with young string players from Project STEP, City Strings United, and Boston Music Project for an afternoon of intergenerational inspiration and artistry. The youth ensembles open the concert with winter selections, followed by Colón’s ensemble and side-by-side jazz-inspired interpretations of Puerto Rican folk songs.

MLK Concert
2026-01-18 15:00 - 17:00
SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 3 pm
FREE Community Concert
Join us for Project STEP’s Annual Concert and Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, January 18th at 3 pm. Venue coming soon!
Listen to music from the talented musicians of Project STEP, hear from honored speaker, historian, author, and member of the Project STEP Board of Directors, Dr. Alexandria Russell, and join us in commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. King.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Honored Speaker: Dr. Alexandria Russell
Dr. Russell is the Executive Director of the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail and a non-resident W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute Fellow at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. She recently served as the Interim Helaine B. Allen Vice President of Education & External Engagement at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She earned Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Secondary Education from the College of Charleston in 2009 and her Ph.D. in History from the University of South Carolina in 2018.

Her book, Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen and Unseen (University of Illinois Press), examines the evolution of African American women’s public commemorations across the United States from the late nineteenth century to the present.

Dr. Russell has received several fellowships to support her research, including a Rose Library Research Fellowship at Emory University. In 2023, she was a recipient of the South Carolina Preservation Service Award for her contributions to African American Women’s History Research and Documentation.
She is the Founder & Executive Director for Black Women Legacies, a nonprofit organization that digitally maps historical and contemporary memorials of Black women on a free, public website. As a historian and memorializer, she is committed to making her research accessible to ALL.

Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Abdi Mohamad Ali
Dr. Ali serves as Executive Director of Word Powered, the founder of Rev. Michael E. Haynes Legacy, and is a member of the Project STEP Board of Directors as well as a former parent of two Project STEP graduates.
Trained in educational ethnography under the mentorship of Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ali has taught students in grades 5-12 in five different Boston Public Schools as an English/Humanities teacher. A longtime Roxbury resident, Ali is a founding faculty member of the Boston Arts Academy where for 13 years he co-designed an interdisciplinary humanities and writing program. A graduate of the Boston University Creative Writing Program, Ali studied poetry with Poet Laureate of the United States, Robert Pinsky, and Nobel Prize for Literature recipient, Derek Walcott.
Prior to joining Word Powered, Ali led the largest expansion of district-based teacher preparation and licensure programs for paraeducators, career changers and bilingual candidates. This multigenerational teacher pipeline established teaching apprenticeships for high school and college students as well.

A Far Cry + Project STEP
2026-01-31 19:00 - 21:00 | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
TICKETS

SIDE BY SIDE @ JORDAN HALL

Saturday, January 31, 2026
7:30 PM
NEC’s Jordan Hall | 30 Gainsborough Street | Boston, MA, 02115United States (map)

Musical Program
Sapo Perapaskero aka Taraf de Haïdouks | Turceasca, arr. Osvaldo Golijov & Ljova
Igor Stravinsky | Apollon musagète
Joan Tower | String Quartet No. 5, “White Water” (arr. Randy Zigler)
Arcangelo Corelli | Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 3
Corelli | Concerto Grosso in D major Op. 6 No. 4
Curated by Crier Michael Unterman
Featuring students from Project STEP & New England Conservatory *
Great music isn’t just taught—it’s shared with the next generation side by side.
In A Far Cry’s annual Side by Side, the Criers partner with young musicians from Project STEP and New England Conservatory for a joyful performance that celebrates the next generation of artists and the mentors, teachers, families, and friends who lift them up. Students participate in a radical side-by-side rehearsal and performance experience as co-equals with the Criers, empowering young artists through their democratic model of music making.
The program opens with a burst of energy: Taraf de Haïdouks’ Turceasca, arranged by Golijov and Ljova, revels in the joy of sharing oral musical traditions. From there, we move into Stravinsky’s Apollon musagète, a neoclassical ballet that reaches back toward antiquity with grace and restraint—an homage to the past, refracted through a modern lens. Joan Tower’s White Water, originally written for string quartet and expanded here for fuller forces, offers a visceral, contemporary portrait of musical momentum and renewal. And finally, we arrive at two concerti grossi by Arcangelo Corelli, whose influence echoes through everything that came before.
This is more than a concert. It’s a powerful tribute to the next generation, a standing ovation for caregivers and educators, and a bright spotlight on Boston’s rising talent.
*Students will be joining for select works

Rockport Music
2026-03-22 15:00 - 17:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center at Rockport Music, 16 MAIN STREET, Rockport, MA, 01966
Join us on Sunday, March 22 at 3 pm at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport MA for a free community concert as part of Rockport Music’s Education & Community Program. Tickets are FREE with RSVP and open to the public.
This concert is in honor of the late William Moyer, Project STEP’s founder.

William (Bill) Moyer, in 1982, then-Orchestra Personnel Manager of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was charged with finding musicians from underrepresented communities in classical music to audition for open spots in the orchestra. He crisscrossed the country and could not find any that had the extensive music training required to take these auditions. His conclusion: “If we’re serious about this, we must start a program.” With initial support from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and others in the Boston area, he helped design and launch Project STEP (String Training Education Program) to provide that comprehensive and long-term training, and a lasting connection to the surrounding community.
Because of Bill’s commitment to equity in the arts, Project STEP opened its doors in 1982 with 7 students, and graduated its first two students in 1988. Since that time Project STEP has introduced 2,000 children to music through our FOCUS and core programs. In contrast with Boston’s 4-year graduation rates for Black and LatinX students (which declined in 2019 to 76.4% and 67%, respectively), 100% of Project STEP’s graduates attend college or conservatory.
Recent Project STEP graduates have attended Juilliard, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, NYU, and Brown. Project STEP graduates have gone on to become orchestra members, founders of other programs modeled on Project STEP, music teachers, and soloists, as well as financial services advisors, doctors, and architects. We consider Project STEP to be a model for creative youth development where music is used to help young people develop key skills and find success throughout their lives. Project STEP is the nation’s FIRST pathways program for college and conservatory students typically underrepresented in classical music. Project STEP would not be here today without William Moyer.

STEP into Grace
2026-03-31 17:30 - 21:30 | Grace by Nia, 60 Seaport Blvd #325, Boston, MA, 02210
Save the Date
STEP into Grace
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Grace by Nia | 60 Seaport Blvd #325, Boston, MA 02210
Sponsorship & Ticket information Coming Soon
DRESS code: FUN & FABULOUS – whatever makes you feel good!

You’re Invited: Please join Project STEP on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at Grace by Nia to celebrate and raise funds for Project STEP; the nation’s first college and career pathway program for students of color in classical music. Sip handcrafted cocktails and savor bold, modern soul-food flavors at Grace by Nia in Boston’s vibrant Seaport District. Hear live performances from Project STEP’s brilliant young artists, nd connect with Boston’s most inspiring leaders and changemakers.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 31, 2025 from 5:30 – 9:30 pm
WHERE: Grace by Nia – 60 Seaport Blvd. | Boston, MA
WHY: Our most important annual fundraiser. Support Project STEP students, music education, and equity in the arts – celebrating over 40 years of excellence.
HONORING: Lecolion Washington, Executive Director of Community Music Center of Boston, to receive the William Moyer Champion of Change Award
DRESS: Party attire – whatever makes you feel GREAT!
PARKING: We encourage you to make a plan for parking prior to to the event:
• Consider using a ride-share service such as Uber or LYFT.
• Take the MBTA Red Line to South Station. Hop on any Silver Line bus and go one stop to Courthouse.
• Parking Garages: One Seaport Garage (75 Sleeper Street), Fan Pier Garage/Pilgrim Parking (1Bond Drive). Please note parking can be up to $45 for a 4-hour event.
• Try the smart phone application Spot Hero to find the best available price/spot near the venue.

Event Committee
Audley H. Fuller, Chair
Jessica Chen
Melinda K. Cheston
Sheila Green
Carla Haith, Ph.D.
Sara E. Kitaeff, Esq.
Alex McCray
Tara Merck
Elisa Pepe
Kenneth Wilson

Project STEP Spring Recital in Collaboration with Tony Williams Dance Center Collaborative Project
2026-05-17 15:00 - 17:00
Project STEP Spring Recital in Collaboration with
Tony Williams Dance Center Collaborative Project
Sunday, May 17, 2026 | 3 pm
Venue Coming Soon!
This event is sponsored in part by The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation
Free and open to the public – NO RSVP NEEDED
Additional information will be added soon.
This program is supported in part by grants from the following generous supporters: Mass Cultural Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. This event is also made possible by the generous support of the D’Addario Foundation, The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation, and The Mary Saudek Jaffee Fund.
