kids are going to go out and change
the world,” Pratt predicts.
Kids older than 14 often become
interns, and as they develop their
skills, she pays them, giving young
people from low-income homes
a steady income. Once YPI was
established, Pratt discovered that
students who aged out of the
program also wanted to work with
younger children. “We’ve created a
situation where kids don’t graduate
out as much as they stay in the
community,” she explains, giving
Jeremy Lyon as an example.
When she first met him, he was a
little redheaded kid, 13-year-old,
who got a full scholarship and was
phenomenal. He went on to become
a musician who played at Outside
Lands, and he visited YPI to do
photo ops with the students. Now
he’s back as a teacher, in addition
to being a professional musician.
Another former student went to
Dartmouth College, where she
joined an a capella group, and she
brought her fellow singers to Marin
to perform with YPI’s children at
Town Center in Corte Madera.
Public performances are part of
the program, and among its gigs,
YPI performs annually for Bread
& Roses, visits Cedars in Marin, an
organization that supports people
with intellectual and developmental
disabilities, where residents sing
and clap along and visits shopping
centers during the holiday season. students have scholarships, and she
doesn’t accept pay for teaching
them.
YPI offers scholarships, so anyone
can attend, and when parents fill
out a scholarship form, Pratt asks
how much they can pay. Most
people can afford at least a little,
and Pratt says that they supply
the rest, explaining that YPI is a
nonprofit and supporters make
donations, which pay for the
scholarships. She adds that half the Music makes kids happy, but it
has other benefits too. Studies
show that children who have
music instruction perform better
academically. “None of this was a
surprise to me,” says Pratt. She adds
that she has observed that the kind
of child who is drawn to music is
usually also athletic, compassionate
and gentle with the elderly and
younger kids. “You become in tune
with the larger harmony of the
cosmos,” she says—and that just
might be music’s biggest gift to the
world.
Young Performers International offers
summer camp in Corte Madera, group and
individual lessons in students’ homes and
classes at River Montessori Charter School
in Petaluma. For more information, visit
youngperformersintl.org.
22 MARIN ARTS & CULTURE