Austin Soundwaves

To learn more about Austin Soundwaves or to enroll your EAPrep student, contact Austin Soundwaves Program Director Patrick Slevin (habla español) at 512.927.6070 x 1 or patrick@austinsoundwaves.org

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Music & Arts Programs at EAPrep
We are very excited about our Austin Soundwaves music program at EAPrep's Secondary School (MLK campus), which is provided by The Hispanic Alliance. Austin is one of the few U.S. cities whose program is led by a professional trained and certified in the internationally-acclaimed El Sistema method, Mr. Patrick Slevin.

About Austin Soundwaves
East Austin College Prep is fortunate to have been chosen by The Hispanic Alliance to offer their Austin Soundwaves Program. The program is based on the world renowned intensive youth music education program known as El Sistema, which emphasizes training in orchestral music for children.

Created nearly three decades ago in Venezuela as a way to bring classical music training to underprivileged children, El Sistema is now an internationally recognized and codified system. El Sistema's best-known graduate is renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The El Sistema program is demanding. Music classes are scheduled as a part of the school's regular curriculum, not as an after-school program. Classes are held five days a week, along with after-school rehearsals and lessons.

Hispanic participation in the arts has lagged behind other populations. A 2008 study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that only 36 percent of the adult Hispanic population attends arts events, compared with 55 percent of the Anglo adult population. For classical music, the numbers are even smaller, the study found: Only 3.8 percent of the adult Hispanic population attended a classical music event, compared with 11.3 percent of the Anglo adult population. “This collaboration was an important first step for the Soundwaves program because our organizations share common values and we both strive to provide underserved communities with opportunities they never had before”, stated Patrick Slevin, Austin Soundwaves Director. “Hispanic communities have been historically underserved in the fine arts. Through Austin Soundwaves, East Austin College Prep now has an intensive music program taught by world class musicians in the orchestral arts.”

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