Harper guitar class for children gets grant

Six years ago, Harper College launched a low-cost guitar course aimed at making music accessible to more local children. This year, the college landed a grant that will help some of them take the next step in their musical journey, funding scholarships for semiprivate and private lessons.

The grant, $1,000 from the D’Addario Music Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring music appreciation worldwide — will fund continued lessons for several guitar program students.#147;It#146;s so rewarding for us to look at these young musicians and know we#146;ve helped provide them with an invaluable music education at an affordable cost,#148; said Henrietta Neeley, coordinator of Harper#146;s Community Music Center. #147;This grant will help us continue to inspire them.#148;Harper#146;s low-cost beginner guitar course has produced a cadre of proud alumni since its launch in 2005, many of whom have stuck with it through years of subsequent group classes and semiprivate and private lessons. The class is held every semester at the College#146;s Northeast Center in Prospect Heights, and typically draws about 20 students ages 7 to 10.Each student receives a loaner guitar, and all the music necessary. The beginner course is $99 for 16 one-hour group classes in the fall and spring semesters; the cost is $79 for an abbreviated eight-week summer course. That includes a $40 guitar deposit.For more information on the children#146;s guitar program or other Community Music Center offerings, call (847) 925-6659 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/ce. Those interested in providing funding for further student guitar or general music scholarships should call the Harper Educational Foundation at (847) 925-6490.