Through its Outreach Programs, Diller-Quaile nurtures its relationship with the extended community.
Since 1973,
the Summer Music Study Program (SMSP) has provided music education to the children and teachers of New York City's publicly-funded day care and after-school centers in Harlem and East Harlem. Additionally, through an ongoing partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Diller-Quaile teaches numerous children from such strife-torn regions in the world as Darfur, Liberia, Burma, Congo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Using a rich repertoire of international folk music drawn from the many cultures of our world, the five-week program develops the participant's musical skills and abilities. The SMSP culminates with a vibrant festival of song and dance.
The
Outreach Teacher Training Program courses, evaluated and recommended by National PONSI for undergraduate and graduate credit, teach day care center instructors how to integrate music into the early childhood classroom. Teachers gain an understanding of the musical development of young children, and acquire skills and strategies for implementing an engaging folk music curriculum. While these semester courses are taught at the School, an added component of the program, the
Partnership Program, provides classroom music sessions, on-site mentoring, and staff workshops to several participating day care centers in Harlem. Additionally, neighboring day care centers attend Friday afternoon Rug Concerts.
Classical Access brings the Diller-Quaile String Quartet to some of New York City's public day care and after-school centers in Harlem and the Bronx, as well as the Lillian Weber Dual Language School for Environmental Arts (P.S. 84), for a series of concerts at each. Designed as an introduction to chamber music for groups of young children, these residencies are a series of informal, hands-on presentations at each institution.
The
Diller-Quaile/Carter Burden Center for the Aging Partnership provides older adults with opportunities for growth and personal fulfillment through music. The School leads a weekly singing group for the Carter-Burden Luncheon Club and Senior Program, and the Diller-Quaile String Quartet performs chamber music concerts at the Center throughout the year.
Through the
Diller-Quaile/Mount Sinai Hospital Program, the School's resident flute and guitar ensemble, the Arc Duo, performs concerts for the patients, staff, and visitors at Mount Sinai Medical Center. These concerts take place in an open atrium setting where the music is enjoyed by patients, staff, and visitors, including those who happen to be passing by, or those who are drawn out of their rooms by the healing music of flute and guitar.
The
Casita Maria StepUp! Program helps students develop their own innate musicality through the study of the violin. In this program, students develop their powers of concentration as they learn how to hold the instrument correctly, how to make a beautiful sound, and how to play new and familiar tunes. The students enjoy instructional songs and games and learn how to read and write the language of music.
In keeping with its mission and its belief that music is in everyone and for everyone, Diller-Quaile is strongly committed to providing financial assistance through its
Scholarship Fund.
Diller-Quaile is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that relies on contributions to its Annual Fund each year to help bridge the gap between tuition revenues and expenses. The Annual Fund allows the School to keep tuition increases to a minimum while maintaining its superb faculty, Outreach Programs, and Scholarship Fund.
