The Allegheny Mountain String Project

"Tomorrow's Leaders, learning to create in community and collaborate through music!"

AMSP students getting ready to perform

Help us raise an additional $1500 for our scholarship fund to allow more students to engage in our music program! Scholarships are given on a sliding need-based scale to students who want to learn but do not have the financial ability to pay for full rate lesson fees.

The Allegheny Mountain String Project (AMSP) is a comprehensive string music program that is the primary regional educational program of the Garth Newel Music Center. Serving 45-60 school-age students across Alleghany, Bath, and Highland Counties, AMSP is the only formal string music education system in our tri-county region.

Founded in 2010, AMSP is open to any student who expresses a desire to learn regardless of financial ability. The program consists of individual and group lessons on violin, viola, cello or bass, group and chamber music experiences. The program is the first large-scale program based on the American Music System which trains young musicians to read music, learn by ear, play in small groups, chamber music ensembles and improvise.

The program continues to foster cooperative experiences for students from diverse backgrounds and geographic areas through the co-creative endeavor of music performance. Participants in the program gain confidence and provide them with the skills to make them become positive community leaders. Through individual and group study of string music, students increase their cognitive functioning and are presented with unique opportunities to deepen their understanding of their own lives as well as those around them.