OUR STORY
Our Mission:
To positively impact youth through music and arts education. We do this through our performing ensembles, learning ensembles, and outreach. We work to build self-esteem, instill self-confidence, and inspire a life-long love of music from all cultures.
To ensure that all young people, regardless of economic advantage, have the opportunity and tools to experience music in a way that enhances their ability to learn, make positive decisions and reach their true potential.
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Using the transformational qualities of music and art to meet the social and emotional needs of at-risk youth in the East St. Louis and Metropolitan area.
Our Philosophy:
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We believe that the music community has the power to uplift and encourage students of diverse backgrounds to aspire to achieve their goals. By helping them to acknowledge their self-worth, endowing them with the proper skills, and offering them the opportunity to build relationships with successful musicians that look like them, we create the opportunity for these students to explore the world from a lens unfiltered by society’s biases and expectations and to pave the way for a new, more exciting future.
About Rosalind-Denise Rogers:
Rosalind-Denise is an Award-winning Educator, Violinist, Speaker, Mother, Founder, and Executive director of The Inner Ear Youth Orchestra and TIEny Youth Orchestra. Her youth orchestra, TIE, is committed to providing at-risk youth with quality music education. In her program, students receive an instrument and up to 6 hours of instruction each week. She hopes to take away the taboo of classical arts within the urban community and use music education to unify and build up her community.
Rosalind moved to East St. Louis in 2017 after accepting a music teaching position at East St. Louis - Lincoln Middle School. There she created and facilitated an after-school music program teaching the violin, viola, and cello. This would lead to East St Louis’ first school orchestra program in nearly 40 years. Since her arrival, she has secured several community partnerships that aid in her mission to provide youth with quality string educational experiences. She is now responsible for the pioneering of 2 Public school music programs and 3 community accessible programs introducing over 1000 youth to date to orchestral music.
A Kansas City, Kansas native, Rosalind-Denise holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education with a concentration on violin from VanderCook College of Music. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated and currently working to obtain a Master's in Nonprofit Management. In her spare time, she enjoys walks in the park, shopping, and raising her three beautiful daughters. She also enjoys home improvement projects and dabbles in carpentry.
She was named Art Educator of the Year for 2022 by the Arts & Education Council and is a 2021 recipient of the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award.
Founder/ Executive Director
Rosalind-Denise
Rogers
Music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.