Whether it’s listening to Raffi in the car, playing the theme to “Titanic” on the recorder or jamming with other musicians in the garage, the impact of music on the human brain is unquestionably significant.
Early childhood education researchers have long touted the positive results of exposing young children to music of all kinds: increased intelligence, enhancement of motor, listening, reading and emotional skills, and a rise in self-confidence.
So it’s not a surprise that the Santa Cruz County Music Teachers’ Association Opportunity Grants program is eager to share the benefits of musical education with students who wish to learn how to play an instrument. From the keyboard to the bassoon to the flute, Charlotte McManus-Guthrie, Opportunity Grants chair, said there’s something for every low-income student within their program.
McManus-Guthrie’s organization awards annual scholarships to highly motivated students whose families are financially unable to provide private music lessons. Applications are due May 15 for the 2025-26 school year.
Students can study piano, voice, string (violin, viola) and wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone and trumpet) with distinguished teachers. Lessons for other string and wind instruments are subject to qualified teachers’ availability, so students should apply if interested.
Students must be enrolled in a Santa Cruz County school or be home-schooled residents in grades 2 through 12 during the ensuing school year. Students should have access to a practice instrument and transportation to weekly lessons. The application includes a brief financial statement. Families are responsible for the costs of educational materials (about $25 per year).
Established in 1995, over $140,000 in scholarships have been awarded to students. Participating teachers have donated approximately the same amount in the form of reduced tuition, with more than half of scholarship students coming from communities of color.
The Music Teachers’ Association of California has praised the program and presented it as a model for scholarship programs throughout the state. Aside from an endowment that was created in 1995, the group raises all its funds through private donations.
“Opportunity Grants is our biggest program within our branch of the Music Teachers’ Association,” McManus-Guthrie said. “In classical music, economics can create a barrier between opportunities and fulfillment. Even with the local youth symphony, you’re going to do better if you have some private lessons. The impetus to create our program was to give underserved populations a chance to learn an instrument they might not have had the opportunity to. Everyone in our organization is a volunteer, and all of the teachers who provide lessons to these students are doing it to benefit the kids.”
Students are given a 30-minute private lesson during the school year on the instrument of their choice from a teacher who specializes in that instrument. The instruments change from year to year depending on the wishes of the scholarship recipients.
“We have a couple of trumpet students who joined us this year, and the lessons are allowing them to get into a mariachi ensemble, so they’re pretty thrilled about that,” McManus-Guthrie said. “We’ve got quite a few kids that are in the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony—you really need some extra help to do that. Some of our students are also participating in the Watsonville Youth Band, and we’re really proud of them.”
McManus-Guthrie added that the scholarship award is not based on an audition—it’s purely based on financial need and the willingness to learn. The group also gets some kids who are struggling in their own school’s music program, and the lessons help them to stay in the program and do well.
For local students, McManus-Guthrie said her group has a teacher in Scotts Valley and a teacher in the San Lorenzo Valley, but she’s looking for more—more teachers and more students.
“That’s one of the areas we are trying to recruit from, and we’re trying to get the word out in that area,” said McManus-Guthrie, who welcomes music teachers and students from local neighborhoods.
One of the musical instruments that has not been included thus far is the percussion family, but McManus-Guthrie isn’t troubled by that.
“If there’s a student who wants to learn an instrument, we’ll find a teacher for them,” she said.
Music teachers and parents in the San Lorenzo Valley or Scotts Valley interested in music education assistance can contact McManus-Guthrie at Op***************@sc*****.org. More information and applications are available at sccmtac.org.
