Chicagoland Youth Pops

a musical experience our students need and deserve

Today, students engage with symphonic music differently

  • 🎵

    Music programs are being cut.

    Community engagement and enrollment in traditional programs are going down.

  • 🎶

    Students don’t regularly interact with traditional orchestras.

    Symphony experiences are expensive, exclusive, and not directed at younger audiences.

  • 🎼

    A lot of kids make and consume music. differently:

    Digital audio production, AI, online communities, social media, film scores, songwriting, and video games.

CYP meets students where they're at

We provide talented middle and high schoolers across Chicagoland with an accessible, world-class opportunity to make the music they love: film scores, video games, pop music, relevant voices, and world cultures. CYP expands well beyond the classical norms of other programs, and this includes the concert experience as well.

CYP IS A 501(c)3

Why we’re different:

  • Relevant repertoire that students are truly passionate about

  • Unique engagement opportunities beyond the concert hall

  • Professional instruction and mentorship

  • Student-led committees, helping to guide the vision of programming, marketing, and engagement

  • Accessible tuition and scholarships

Who we serve:

  • 11-18 year old students across Chicagoland
  • Families looking for high-quality, music opportunuties, including summer opportunities
  • Schools seeking enriching partner programs
  • Communities that want to bring youth music back into community spaces
  • Donors passionate about youth development and culturally responsive/relevant arts education

OUR IMPACT

Direct Impact:

  • Skill-building that supports traditional, musical growth

  • Lifelong love of symphonic music and cultural appreciation

  • Public performances that bring communities together

  • Equity in access

Unique Impact:

  • Critical thinking skills that will be harder and harder to come by

  • Student community, bringing online interaction to in-person connection

  • Growth in student agency and experience in arts management
  • Genuine opportunity for students to flex their creativity

Meet the Team

  • Dr. Dan. Schwartz, DMA

    FOUNDER, DIRECTOR

  • Amy Dosen

    BOARD PRESIDENT

  • Andrew Rosenblat

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Cathy Schwartz

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Holly Stangland

    BOARD MEMBER, STRING SPECIALIST

  • Charles Paparino

    BOARD MEMBER, FINANCE OFFICER

The numbers

CYP Anticipated Yearly BUdget:

$134,000/yr.

  • Executive Director- $50,000

    Artistic Director- $50,000

  • Rehearsal Space- $5,000

    Performance Venues- $5,000

  • Music rental/purchase- $2,000

  • Website and marketing- $5,000

  • Insurance- $4,000

    Musical gear- $3,000

    Guest Artists- $10,000

    —

    Dream web domain (cyp.org)- $18,000

Financial Model

  • 🎵

    TUITION

    $500 per student for school-year session

    $500 per student for summer session/camp

    Hoping for 60-80 students per year

  • 🎶

    SPONSORSHIP

    $100,000 in yearly corporate and individual sponsorship with opportunities for meaningful touchpoints like concert sponsor, chair naming, etc.

  • 🎼

    GRANTS, TICKET SALES, FUNDRAISER/GALA

    $20,000 yearly goal

SAMPLE PROGRAMMING

  • Live film accompaniment

  • Video game concert battle

  • Horror movie gala

  • Teen singer/songwriter showcase

  • Global music/fusion collabs

  • Anime flash mob

  • Live Tik Tok

  • AI experimentation

We want to feature relevant voices, like holding a call for submissions from student film makers, composers, songwriters, and theatrical writers, where the CYP performs live alongside 5-10 minute showcases of work.

Or, a community is putting on an art show. CYP writes/commissions new works to match each artwork for a one-of-a-kind, collaborative event.

CYP is an opportunity for young artists to perform and collaborate in a way they'd never get anywhere else.

How you can help!

  • Corporate gifts

  • Sponsor student tuition

  • Individual donations

  • Gala participation

  • Sponsor a guest artist

  • Sponsor a specific concert

  • Endow the CYP

  • Help us get the CYP.org domain

  • Connect us to potential donors

CYP thanks you for your consideration in re-igniting student passion in symphonic music, providing high-quality music to the Chicagoland in a way like no other, and furthering the development of Chicagoland youth in a way that engages, strengthens, and critically fills the social/emotional gaps they face everyday.

contact us anytime if you want to get involved in any way!

We are working on Google Workspace email addresses, so in the meantime:

dan.j.schwartz@gmail.com

or

dschwartz@lakeforest.edu