UCMP

UCMP is a 501 (c) 3 youth development non-profit organization that provides low-cost, intensive, orchestral music instruction, group lessons, private lessons, and regular performance opportunities to urban children in Hudson County, NJ. UCMP is enhanced by electives in composition, chamber music, band (non-string instruments), music theory, and visual arts. Through a disciplined, cooperative and fun learning environment that integrates parental involvement, UCMP inspires academic excellence, enhances life skills and builds community.


In March 2012, UCMP launched the Garden State’s first El Sistema after-school music program. El Sistema de Orquestas Infantiles ("The System of Children and Youth Orchestras"), is a transformative orchestral program created by Venezuelan José Antonio Abreu in 1975 to give access to orchestral music education to underserved children. Today, thanks to UCMP’s example, there are now six El Sistema-inspired programs throughout New Jersey, from Newark to Camden, collectively impacting over 1,000 children.

UCMP has served over 400 students to date. It currently has two orchestras and one band, serving over 100 Hudson County students from 3-to-18 years of age by providing them with free instruments and 24 hours/month of low-cost instruction. UCMP also offers Family Field Trips, Parent Workshops, Visiting Artists, Student Mentors, and regular NY/NJ concerts of UCMP’s Children and Youth Orchestras and Chorus.