The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) put on a free event for families featuring painting and music-making activities.
The event took place on Nov. 16 in CSMA’s new location in Belmont. Though the event welcomed families with kids of all ages, the activities were tailored to younger children.
“We’re giving people the chance to stop by and warm up to us,” said Kyle Jubenville, the corporate arts programmer for CSMA. “We want to find our place in the community.”
Similar to a school art class, kids were learning from an instructor and then able to create their own work. The structure of the event allowed parents to stay and welcome siblings of varying ages into the class.
“This is special because we can mix age groups,” said Chavi Sandhu, an attendee. “My 5-year-old daughter and almost 3-year-old son might be able to enroll in a class together too.”
The first hour was dedicated to a painting lesson. All of the kids got creative while painting snails, butterflies, and flowers with the help of a supportive instructor.
“My daughter enjoys painting and getting her hands dirty,” Sandhu said. “She’s definitely having fun.”
The second hour was music-focused. Another instructor, Mark Cabunoc, played guitar and led the kids through rhythmic and singing activities on a music-themed rug.
“We’re trying to increase access to music,” Jubenville said. “We offer classes to all age groups.”
CSMA is a private organization that has given kids and adults private and group lessons, along with providing in-school art and music lessons in public schools since 1968 in Mountain View, but just in April did they open a location in Belmont.
“We have at least 100 professionally trained teachers and around 3,000-4,000 students in Mountain View,” Jubenville said. “We also teach in public schools from Foster City to San Jose.”
CSMA’s new location in Belmont was in the works for five years before its completion while it was still in the process of being built. The building now hosts an apartment complex along with CSMA.
“In Belmont, new constructions have to provide some sort of benefit to the arts because of how important art is to the city,” Jubenville said. “We are the benefit.”
With this new location, they are trying to increase outreach and give even more people a chance to engage with their music programs.
“We want to find out what the community wants so that we can choose what to offer,” Jubenville said.
Their goals not only fall on a community scale but also on an individual level. Each student matters, and music and art are great tools to help people find joy in their lives.
“We had a student here in one of our art programs, and she made a piece here and submitted it to a school contest,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick, CSMA’s Belmont program coordinator. “She won first place.”
Organizations like CSMA can open the doors for more availability for art programs, increasing the connections and opportunities available within the community.
“I love seeing families and communities and feeling the creativity that comes with them,” Fitzpatrick said. “I love seeing growth and hearing music.”
