What a difference 17 months makes.
The last time we saw the young musicians of BandWith Chicago, they were playing their first public concert after the pandemic lockdown in an East Garfield Park garden behind Learn Charter School Network’s Campbell Campus.
Now, the nonprofit that provides long-term musical instruction and ensemble play to young people from underserved Chicago communities is making plans to build its own local community performing arts center, and members of BandWith’s drum line and dance team are setting forth on their first East Coast tour.
“COVID, as destructive and painful as it has been, it did give us a moment to think and be deliberate,” said Annie Palomino, BandWith Chicago’s founder and executive director. “We, as a board, had the time to think about the end goal. Where do we want to be in five years? It was an easy call because that’s always been the driving priority for BandWith — the goal has always been to be committed and consistent.”
After nine years in the neighborhood partnering and sharing space with community programs and agencies like Hope Junior and Marillac St. Vincent’s after-school youth program, BandWith hopes to complete its community performing arts center by summer 2023. The 25,000-square-foot building at 134 S. California Ave. will house BandWith’s free dance, drum line, sound engineering, instrumental and choral ensemble programs. With a $1 million-plus capital grant from the Glasser and Rosenthal Family Foundation.
“We’re superexcited we’ll be in East Garfield Park for the foreseeable future,” Palomino said. “It’s a pretty big building; a whole city block that allows room for us to be in conversation with other community performing arts partners. We’re going to put a coffee shop in there because there’s no coffee shops within walking distance. There will be two community gathering spaces inside, and also there’s going to be a garden sort of pavilion outside. And there will be a few organizations that have residencies in the building with us.”
Palomino is excited to host collaborations in the new space with other musical programs, like the Voices of Youth Ensemble, which is seeking a less temporary home. “In the center, we plan to serve all ages. Mommy and Me classes in the dance studio, art therapy programs. I’ve always had a dream of serving people like me, who may have been in high school and college ensembles and afterward didn’t really have anywhere to plug in to senior jazz ensembles, providing a practice rehearsal space for them. And there will be a few organizations that have residencies in the building with us.”
BandWith Chicago has come a long way. Its members have performed at Lollapalooza, at the United Center during a Blackhawks game, been featured on “The Today Show” and received a $5,000 grant from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tee-Rico Foundation. Next up, BandWith’s advanced drum line team and dance team, some 30 students, will perform in Pennsylvania, New York and Washington, D.C.
Rashad Smith, a drum line student leader, was 15 when he shared his enthusiasm for being a BandWith participant. Now at 17, the Muchin College Prep senior is heading to college after graduation looking to major in music business and become a member of the school band.
“I really expected BandWith to grow, but I didn’t think we’d get to where we are now,” Smith said. He expects to come back to his neighborhood on school breaks to help other musicians grow.
BandWith’s dance instructor Jazmyne Davis joined the organization in July 2021. She’s taking the dancers aged 12 and up on the upcoming performance tour. With a focus on hip hop, jazz and contemporary, Davis said BandWith Chicago is providing options for youth without the barriers of cost.
“Sometimes classes can range from like $20 to $30 per class, Davis said. “With this program, we’re able to just let them dance and we figure out the finances. That way, if you have a hobby, you’re able to explore it without limitations.”
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“The kids have been dreaming of a tour for years and now we’re doing it,” Palomino added. “This is such an incredible opportunity to reward them for their hard work, help them connect to their wider community and expand their perspectives in terms of what the world has to offer.”
What started as a lone band program with fewer than two dozen elementary students getting free music instruction solely from Palomino has grown to several musical programs taught during the day and after school from third grade to high school, including Titan Band and the All-Star Band. Now BandWith has two full-time employees and six part-time instructors. Palomino said BandWith will serve 215 kids in 2022 (140 of those in free programs). “It’s at least double or almost triple that and once we have the community center, I imagine we will serve around 300 kids a week, minimum.”