The Newport String Project is a chamber music performance and youth mentoring program that aims to build community through music by crossing boundaries of generation, heritage, and economic circumstances. The project accomplishes this by having its resident ensemble, the Newport String Quartet, work with 40 students each week in a robust curriculum of activities that includes individual lessons in violin, viola, or cello, together with a lively student performance series—all at no cost to the families. In addition to teaching, the Quartet is featured in a popular and innovative public concert series where each concert features music from the standard chamber music canon, music by lesser known or forgotten composers, music by underrepresented or new voices, and music of our time, including many premieres.
Guided by the core values of partnership and collaboration along with a commitment to strengthen the social and cultural fabric of the Newport community, the project is proud to work with a variety of local organizations. Youth programming takes place at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, East Bay MET School, and the Florence Gray Center, and the many concert venues throughout the community include the Newport Art Museum, the Norman Bird Sanctuary, the Newport Historical Society, Jamestown Arts Center, Four Corners Arts Center, the Jane Pickens Theatre, the Newport Performing Arts Center, and the many churches and community centers throughout the area. Our community-based practice also features partnerships with local community meals and food pantries, Creative Communities Collaborative, Conexión Latina, Aquidneck Community Table, and Bike Newport.
Now in its 11th year, the project has been recognized and supported by several national, state, and local sponsors for its unique approach to community-based music education and performance. These include the National Endowment for the Arts, The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Prince Charitable Trusts, the Newport County Fund, the Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust, BnV Charitable Funds, the Rotary Club of Newport, Ocean State Charitable Trusts, Powered by Prince/Frederick Henry Prince Memorial Fund at the Newport Hospital, and a growing community of individual supporters.