Trenton MusicMakers

The Trenton Community Music School was founded in 1998 to provide high-quality, affordable and accessible individual and group music instruction to children and youth in the city of Trenton. The current community-based model allows TCMS to provide programs that are specifically pro-social in nature: that have stated outcomes not only in musicianship and performing skill, but also communication skills, pre-literacy, and kindergarten readiness (in the case of the early childhood programs), and executive function, positive peer culture, and academic performance (in the case of the El Sistema -- Trenton program). One of the guiding principles of Trenton Community Music School is to uphold and strengthen the promising elements already present in children's lives: the network of caring parents and teachers, and the desire to develop skills that make them an asset to their school communities. To this they add proven, researched curricula, access to musical instruments, and instruction at no cost to children and families, provided by professional teaching artists.