Why Music Matters to Me

Arts Corps has truly been one of the most amazing things I have been a part of in my life. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t met my Arts Corps mentors and friends.  Joining Youngstown Records and having Arts Corps’ love and support through our journey as a group made it an amazing and inspiring experience. They made us believe in what we did, whole-heartedly, and always encouraged us and gave us more opportunities than we could have ever asked for.

Arts Corps has inspired me to teach kids about all they are capable of and tapping into what they love to do. I’m currently working as an AmeriCorps member at Cascade Middle School and I use what I learned through Arts Corps to work with my students. Arts Corps has taught me responsibility, courage, and to expect the unexpected; and those are things that I try to instill in my students.

To be honest, I simply love Arts Corps. My best friend and I sometimes joke about being Arts Corps teaching artists and living in one of the upstairs classrooms at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. I’ve met the most amazing people through Arts Corps and I can’t wait to continue my work with them though out my life.

Listen to Vivi talk about Why Music Matters on KEXP

Vivi Perez is an Arts Corps alumni and was a member of the inaugural year of the youth-run record label Youngstown Records, a program of Arts Corps and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. In one amazing year, Vivi and the Youngstown Records youth curated an exhibit for the Frye Art Museum and were invited to attend the White House historic concert and education event on February 10th entitled “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.”

Read about it here.

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