ZILBER
FAMILY FOUNDATION AWARDS $25,000 TO REAGAN IB HIGH SCHOOL
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Community Partnerships, Student Performance Opportunities Instrumental In Program Success
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Community Partnerships, Student Performance Opportunities Instrumental In Program Success
MILWAUKEE
– The Board of Directors of the Joseph and Vera Zilber Family Foundation has
awarded a five-year, $25,000 grant to continue its support of Reagan International
Baccalaureate (IB) High School’s music program. The award comes just before Reagan’s
January performance of the musical “Guys and Dolls.”
A
Zilber grant made from 2008 to 2013 helped establish international
baccalaureate vocal and instrumental music programs at Reagan, 4965 S. 20th
St., along with scores of musical productions, competitions and
extra-curricular activities. Since 2008, the music program has grown from only
a dozen students to approximately 500.
“Vera
Zilber took great care to make music a central part of her family’s life,” said
Susan Lloyd, executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation. “Providing
fine arts education and channels for creative expression levels the playing
field for students who may not otherwise have such an opportunity.”
The
Vera J. Zilber Music Department at Reagan delivers a
rigorous college-level curriculum for young people interested in performing,
composing and studying music. Reagan is
the only school in Wisconsin to teach a full four-year
International Baccalaureate music curriculum. IB music students develop solo performance, composition and
musical analysis skills and may be eligible for college course credits. Extracurricular activities open to all
students include drum line, DJ club, solo and ensemble clubs, piano club, pit
orchestra club, jazz band, musical theater and Radio Reagan.
The
Zilber grant will continue to support these programs, along with community
partnerships with the Florentine Opera and Milwaukee Symphony and student
performance opportunities locally and nationally.
Reagan
music department leaders will also begin collaborating with North Division High
School—located in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood—to share best practices and
strategies for building a successful music program in an urban district.
“Our music program unites teens
from diverse backgrounds around the universal language of music,” said Erica
Breitbarth, music department chair, choir director and IB music teacher at
Reagan. “We look forward to sharing our experience with others in the community
and providing our students with both academic and hands-on musical
opportunities to develop their artistic expression.”
Reagan
will present a preview of this artistic expression in its production of the
musical “Guys and Dolls,” with performances Friday Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan.
25 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. All performances will take place at
the Reagan IB Auditorium, 4965 S. 20th St. Tickets are $10 for
adults and $7 for students and seniors.
About the Zilber Family Foundation: Formed in 1961, the
Joseph and Vera Zilber Family Foundation, Inc. is a private independent
grantmaking institution dedicated to enhancing the well-being of individuals,
families, and neighborhoods, with a primary emphasis on the City of Milwaukee.
In recent years, the Zilber Family Foundation has pledged $30 million to
Marquette University to fund scholarships and other programs; $10 million to
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to establish a School of Public Health;
and $50 million over 10 years to improve the Milwaukee neighborhoods of Lindsay
Heights, Clarke Square, and the Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods of Silver
City, Burnham Park and Layton Park.
