Seattle Times
Kids from 6 to 17 filter in after school every Wednesday to Rainier Beach Community Center for Orchestra practice. With iffy transportation, family crises and such, their numbers wax and wane — 25 today, sometimes 35, almost all beginners. In a corner, drummers; all antsy boys. In the back, kids whose heads barely rise above keyboards. Little violinists in the front row, practicing bowing. This orchestra, free to the kids, is the brainchild of two unlikely looking partners who are paying it forward: Robinson — 48, tall, African-American, jazz musician — and Pam Berry — 67, pint-size, Orthodox Jewish, dancer, community volunteer. For more information on this program, check out the link.