Academy

Crescendo

The Academy of Community Music is a non-profit community music school which serves over 2,500 people a year with music lessons, music therapy and group classes.  Music offerings include Suzuki music groups, Broadway style song and dance groups, music theory, and instrumental ensembles.  The Academy's Crescendo Music Program reaches out to provide weekly music classes and more to preschool children at risk in the Philadelphia area.  Performance opportunities are available for all students at Grand Concert Weekend and at Crescendo's annual Special Performances concert.

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   In 1983, the Academy of Community Music was founded by Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Robert dePasquale and his wife, Ellen Fisher. The Academy’s mission is to:  

• seek not just to develop musical promise, but to develop human promise through music

• make a special effort to serve people facing the challenges which often come with cognitive and physical disability, aging, and economic disadvantage

• use music to strengthen families and communities, by engaging parents in the development of their children and by reaching families in their own communities

Today, the Academy offers families their choice of over 40 Suzuki and traditional teachers as well as music therapists.  More than 3,000 children and parents, older adults and people of all ages with disabilities and disadvantages receive the benefits of Academy programs, on site and in neighborhoods throughout greater Philadelphia.

Helping preschool children grow through music!

Crescendo is the Academy's largest outreach program, serving more than 1,200 children a year at Head Start and Early Intervention centers throughout the Philadelphia area.

Find out more about Crescendo.