Mountain View’s Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) does more than offer classes. It also campaigns to expand access to the arts through community outreach, merit scholarships and financial aid programs.
“CSMA was founded with the idea that everybody could participate in the arts, that the arts are inspiring and a necessary part of everyday life,” director Adriana Marcial said. “CSMA is meant to be accessible and reach people wherever they’re at in their arts journey. That can be a 3-year-old who is interested in egg shakers and finger paint, up to somebody who has studied music for their entire childhood.”
In an effort to make arts open for all, CSMA has a financial aid program that provides reduced or free tuition.
“Part of making arts accessible is not just offering lessons,” Marcial said. “It’s about removing as many barriers as possible. Our ultimate goal is that anybody, no matter what their financial situation is, can participate in our programs.”
Founded in 1968, CSMA now reaches nearly 30,000 students annually. Many of them come to the Mountain View location on San Antonio Circle or the newly opened campus on Old Country Road in Belmont, while others receive lessons at school.
Onsite, the nonprofit offers lessons in 27 instruments and several forms of art, including painting, ceramics and digital media. Offsite, CSMA operates an extensive arts education program in kindergarten through middle school classrooms at more than 50 schools in the Bay Area.
“For many of the kids that we serve during the school day, this is their only outlet for art or music, and sometimes the only outlet for art that they’ll ever get,” Marcial said. “It might also be kind of their first exposure to art and music and become the impetus for why they choose to pursue it further as a student or perhaps as a career down the line. I think that program is really influential and really important to the school system.”
CSMA achieves this through partnerships with the city of Mountain View, nonprofits like the Hewlett Foundation and companies like Google.
Aside from financial aid, CSMA offers a merit scholar program that requires auditions. Scholars participate in public concerts and perform at nursing homes.
“I actually really enjoy the duet concerts and stuff because I get to play with new people,” Los Altos High School senior Sandy Xu said. “It’s hard to organize those kinds of things on your own, but having a teacher help coach you is really fun. And at the end of the year party, you get to meet merit scholars as people beyond their music.”
Marcial said the school wants to continue expanding, but funding may soon be limited due to the recent reduction of grants provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. So far, it has not affected CSMA’s operations and outreach, according to the director, and the school plans to continue its work.
“Art can really make a stronger community – it unifies people and allows people to have a creative outlet, which can be so impactful for mental and overall health,” Marcial said. “I think that that is something that communities need, especially in today’s day and age.”
On top of its music and arts lessons this summer, CSMA has scheduled its free Community Arts Day Open House 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 20 at the Mountain View campus.
“What I love about the school is that you can walk into the building and you can discover something,” Marcial said. “At our community arts day, there were families who arrived at 10 a.m. and didn’t leave for the whole day because they were just having so much fun.”
There are also arts events to expose the community to traditions and art forms from different cultures, such as a Dia de Los Muertos event to celebrate Hispanic food, art and music like flamenco.
For more information on CSMA, visit arts4all.org.
