Title
To recognize and congratulate Ms. Catherine T. Willis and Urban Strings on 10 years of musical excellence - preserving African American History and culture by exposing urban youth and communities to music composed and arranged by African American artists.
Body
WHEREAS, Urban strings is the result of a dream by Ms. Catherine T. Willis a life-long educator committed to making a positive impact on the life of the youth of Columbus and Central Ohio; and
WHEREAS, Urban Strings is a Central Ohio-based community youth orchestra comprised of young, talented musicians from private, parochial, charter and public schools who perform music ranging from classical, jazz, gospel, R&B, negro spirituals, the cinema, and other types of music to which they might not otherwise be exposed - revealing the beauty and importance of string instruments and music; and
WHEREAS, Urban Strings also seeks to provide an opportunity for its instrumentalists to hone proper performance techniques for their respective instruments - placing a high value on academic performance, preparing participants to become well-rounded college applicants; and
WHEREAS, 2017 marks the 10th Anniversary of the founding of Urban Strings which began with 2 students from Champion Middle School and now has 46 students ranging from ages 8 to 18; and
WHEREAS, last year the students from Urban Strings had an opportunity to tour and perform in and around Washington D.C. - visiting a number of historically significant historical sites including Howard University, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the home of Frederick Douglas, and the African American Civil War Museum - they also performed at a D.C. Integrated Arts school, at two historic churches, Ben’s Chili Bowl -as well as deliver over 33 performances in Central Ohio; and
WHEREAS, 2017, the 10th celebratory year will feature special concerts and master classes with special acclaimed professional guests, fundraising for a Southern tour to take place from June 24 thru June 30th 2017 - this tour includes visits to Memphis, New Orleans, Tuskegee, Montgomery, Huntsville, Birmingham and Atlanta as well as - college tours, visits to historical sites and concert performances; and
WHEREAS, Urban Strings respects the opportunity to represent Columbus and Central Ohio - serving as Ambassadors encouraging other communities to support the musical development of youth as Columbus and Central Ohio have; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby, recognize and congratulate Ms. Catherine T. Willis and Urban Strings on 10 years of musical excellence - preserving African American History and culture by exposing urban youth and communities to music composed and arranged by African American artists.