In 2021, we more than doubled our enrollment and faculty
As the Dominican Republic emerged from lockdown, we more than doubled our enrollment of fulltime students to 160, and launched two new programs: Montessori music, and Kompa Exchange, bringing total enrollment to over 300. We further added saxophone and piano to our flagship music program.
Montessori Music Lead by El Sistema veteran Eduardo Abi Harb, our Montessori music program offers twice weekly choral practice to 8 Montessori classrooms, totaling over 200 children age 3 to 8 years. Early choral training strengthens teamwork, and prepares children for a lifetime of participation in music. As they progress, students of the Montessori choral program will be well prepared to enter our fulltime music program.
Kompa Exchange
In September we launched a Kompa music program. Kompa is the national music of Haiti, with shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The Kompa program, lead by Kedley Lamande, joins Dominican and Haiti students in an exchange that broadens their musical palettes and encourages cross-cultural harmony.
Saxophone & Piano Wilson Salomon and Marcos Villaman have joined our team to launch saxophone and piano programs. The Saxophone has a rich tradition in the Dominican Republic, and is essential to Merengue Tipico. The piano is used in a variety of Dominican and Latin American genres. With the addition of these instruments, our student band has broadened its range to include more Latin American and Caribbean musical genres.