#GivingTuesday Philly Spotlight: Live Connections

In the spirit of #GivingTuesday – which takes place Tuesday, December 3rd – WXPN is spotlighting the good work of various non-profits throughout the community. We have a day for giving thanks, days for giving gifts, and now we have a day for giving back! Start your giving season with a pledge to WXPN.

Celebrating its fifth year this fall, LiveConnections is one of the local programs working to combat the disappearance of music and arts education programs from public schools. Pulling together local musicians such as Alex Shaw of Alo Brasil (pictured) to hold workshops with students of all ages, LiveConnections now reaches 4,500 students between its six Philadelphia partner schools and over 30 participating schools across the region.

As The Key’s Elizabeth Mazenko reported in October, the program has expanded tho include classical concerts (ClassicAlive) and the Knight Arts Challenge (LiveStudio), and co-founder David Bradley said the program’s aim is to connect with as much of the Philadelphia-area youth as possible:

“All of our programs set out to cross boundaries and show how different musical styles can relate,” Bradely mentions as he explains that each offered program traverses over one another. Going into the plans for this upcoming year, he starts to talk with exuberance.

“LiveConnections has become a hub of new ideas new collaborations for how music can reach the community.” Bradely goes on about about a partner settlement with Christopher Columbus charter school to offer students the chance to play together in percussion lessons, and a new partnership with Art-Reach to stream Bridge Sessions and give workshops to adults with intellectual disabilities. “This year set up an emblem of what we want .”

Below, watch a video of one of LiveConnections’ Bridge Sessions, tying hip-hop into West African Dance. For more information on giving to LiveConnections, go here; for more on Giving Tuesday, visit here.