Bethany Thompson
TFO Senior String Specialist
(Pictured top right)
For over 57 years, The Florida Orchestra has shared the beauty of music with audiences in Tampa Bay, showcasing music’s power to move, connect and inspire. Driven by a commitment to serve the whole community, the orchestra has brought music to unexpected places — hospitals, parks, airports and even the Super Bowl. Now, it is extending its reach further through its new Detention Center Strings Program, which offers violin and cello lessons to detained teens at Tampa Residential Facility. You can experience the results this Friday (Nov. 22) in a lobby performance before TFO’s concert at the Straz Center in Tampa.
The pilot program, initiated by TFO’s Education and Community Director Michelle Kim-Painter as part of their outreach, offers violin and cello classes to six boys at the facility, a moderate-risk juvenile detention center housing nearly 70 boys ages 14 to 18. This initiative stands out because music programs in detention centers are rare, and those that exist typically focus on instruments like guitars or drums, or genres like hip hop, which are considered more culturally relevant. Classical instruments like the violin and cello are almost unheard of in these settings, often dismissed as unfamiliar, expensive or unlikely to resonate with the youth. “Teens in detention won’t want to play string instruments,” I’ve been told — but this program is proving otherwise.
During my doctoral studies, I researched the benefits of music for detained teens while teaching a detention string program, and published the results. Ever since, I’ve taught classical music to youth in detention by launching string programs in juvenile facilities. In each program, the teens’ enthusiastic engagement with the violin and cello has fostered skill development, self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment among the youth. Now, in partnership with The Florida Orchestra, I’m thrilled to teach their new Detention Center Strings Program. Over the past eight weeks, six students have been learning the violin and cello in weekly group lessons, preparing for two public performances that will mark the program’s finale. Another session will begin in the spring.
Among the students is an 18-year-old who is learning the cello, and his excitement is palpable. (His name is being withheld for privacy.) Despite getting to practice only in our weekly class, he sees his progress. He cheers whenever they play something well, and with each success, his sense of musical identity and pride grows. “How much does a cello cost?” the teen asks after class. “Because I might want to get me one of these.” As the weeks pass, he and his colleague start proudly calling themselves “The Cello Boys.”
Facility staff are amazed at the boys’ eagerness to embrace an activity so unlike anything else they’ve known in detention. “They really like this,” says Mr. M, the recreational therapist who often observes class. “It’s so good for them to go into music class and forget all the other stuff going on.”
The boys’ musical journey was enriched by a visit from Sebastian Stefanović (pictured top left), a violist with The Florida Orchestra who also will perform with the teens in upcoming concerts. During his class visit, Sebastian introduced the viola, shared stories about his career and performed for the boys, inspiring them as they prepare for their own performances.
From the very beginning, the boys have been eager to share their new skills. After our first class, the 18-year-old excitedly told his friends, “Hey! I’m going to be performing for you all in about 6 weeks!” Now, with the first session almost over, our first performance will be in the lobby of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. If you’d like to celebrate this collaboration and the boys’ achievements, you’re welcome to join us at 7:30 pm Friday (Nov. 22) before TFO’s Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 concert. (Concert tickets available here)
The Florida Orchestra’s Detention Center Strings Program offers a powerful reminder of these boys’ potential and worth. Behind locked doors, the program gives the participants more than music. It offers a chance to develop skills, celebrate achievements and envision a future filled with possibility.
If you want to help
The support of generous TFO donors helps make education and community programs like this possible. If you want to help with a gift, click here.
