CYSO believes in the importance of arts education and is committed to serving Chicago’s youth of all backgrounds. Music Pathways is CYSO’s comprehensive music education program geared for Chicago Public Elementary Schools.

CYSO's Music Pathways program serves thousands of students and teachers in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). By serving the same schools over several years, CYSO brings consistent, individualized programming to teachers and students that makes a significant impact on the entire school. CYSO serves 2,500 students and teachers in the first through eighth grades through Music Pathways each year. The program has consistently grown over the years, and now encompasses three unique components:

Teacher Professional Development: 

Tailored for CPS classroom teachers, this program offers hands-on training workshops and mentoring by the area’s finest music educators. Classroom teachers learn to integrate music into the curriculum to enhance their students’ learning in subject areas such as reading, languages arts, math, and social studies. Additionally, CYSO’s professional teaching artists visit each of the classrooms several times throughout the school year to demonstrate the ideas and activities learned in the workshops. CYSO also provides musical instruments and teaching resources for each classroom.

Student to Student Learning:

Select students from CYSO’s Concert Orchestra visit schools in a series of Instrument Family Concerts. Throughout a six week residency each Spring, a string quartet, woodwind quintet, brass quintet, and percussion ensemble each present a performance-demonstration to showcase the family of instruments found in the symphony orchestra. CYSO students also provide peer coaching to the CPS students who are in their school band or orchestra program. At the end of the school year, CPS students attend a live performance by the Concert Orchestra that brings together the four instrument families in one big ensemble.

Instrument Lesson Program:

For students beginning in their school’s band program, CYSO offers group lessons for CPS students who show special interest in advancing on woodwind and brass instruments.

For more information about Music Pathways, please contact Brian Baxter at 312.939.2207 ext.24 or bbaxter@cyso.org.