CSMA celebrates 40 years with remarkable local support
By Traci Newell, Town Crier Staff Writer
 Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) ceramics students Noah Miller, David Yang and Ash Aggarwal (left to right) work on making clay textures. |
When Natalie Werbner moved to Palo Alto from Boston in 1961, it shocked her to discover there was no school for music and arts.
Werbner, who grew up attending a community school of music and arts in Boston and later taught at the school, wanted to continue contributing to her community musically.
In 1968, after traveling to several communities trying to find a home for her vision, Werbner and co-founder Joan Van Stone settled on a city of Mountain View-owned house. With startup capital of $150, 28 students and 10 volunteer music teachers, the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) made its debut.
Today, CSMA, a center for arts education, reaches more than 40,000 people annually. The organization’s mission is to enhance “the quality of life in our region by engaging our diverse community in high-quality arts education, performances and exhibitions.” CSMA continues to pursue its goal of providing arts for all.
This year the school marks 40 years of providing art and music education for the community. On March 29, CSMA has scheduled a 40th anniversary gala to mark the occasion.
History
CSMA began humbly in a three-bedroom house on Bailey Avenue in Mountain View. Organizers used the kitchen as an art studio, the living room as a Mexican dance and ballet studio, the bedrooms for private music lessons and the patio for knitting and needlepoint lessons.
When it opened, the school served a small community of 28 students from varied socioeconomic backgrounds. Werbner said she taught music for 25 cents a lesson to those who could not pay regular rates, because it was important for her students to pay something so that the services she and her staff provided did not feel like charity.
“We had people from different backgrounds,” she said. “And children who would otherwise not get the opportunity to meet, got to (know) each other.”
Werbner said the school quickly became an inclusive, enriching way to bring the community together.
Werbner’s vision succeeded – within the first year, the school’s budget ballooned to more than $7,000 and its enrollment to 150 students.
In 1971, the school outgrew its original location and moved to a 60-year-old Victorian farmhouse on California Street in Mountain View. The student and faculty population continued to grow.
In the 1980s, the school began reaching out to the community through its schools programs – Arts in Action and Music in Action – and expanded its musical offerings to include CSMA family concerts.
By the end of the 1980s, CSMA staff had established a financial aid program, received the Mountain View Mayor’s Award for Service to the Community and taught more than 400 private music lessons a week. The Arts in Action program served more than 3,355 children in 12 local schools, and the Music in Action program reached more than 1,440 students in eight local schools.
In the 1990s, CSMA grew exponentially. The budget was $1.5 million by 1998, and a faculty of more than 75 professionals served more than 10,000 people.
Under former Executive Director Angela McConnell’s leadership, CSMA moved to its permanent home on San Antonio Circle in Mountain View in 2003. The campus was designed specifically to meet the school’s needs, and Finn Center, named for key CSMA donor Steve Finn, provides approximately 25,000 square feet for private lessons, art classrooms, music rehearsal halls, administrative offices and gallery space.
CSMA today reaches more than 40,000 people a year and offers nearly $275,000 annually in financial aid. The organization’s budget is $4 million, $3 million of which is earned income.
“I am most proud the school is alive and continuing the tradition of teaching music and arts,” Werbner said. “Music and art are so important – they enrich your inner life and they give you a high without drugs.”
Arts for all
In the spirit of offering arts for all, CSMA’s curriculum is designed to accommodate all skill and age levels.
CSMA publishes a course catalog that covers the spectrum of its creative endeavors and reflects the diverse and multicultural interests of Bay Area inhabitants. Musicians can sign up for private music lessons in classical, jazz, contemporary and world music courses. Artists can participate in visual arts classes in drawing, painting, ceramics, photography and more.
“Christopher became so enthusiastic about his weekly art lessons and what he was learning that he began to create art 365 days a year,” said Arlene Speer, parent of a special-needs student who is enrolled in on-site CSMA classes.
In keeping with digital technological trends of the day, the school offers classes in such digital arts as animation, Web design and audio recording.
Other on-campus activities include a preschool program for students 18 months to 4 years old, concert and lecture series and art exhibitions.
CSMA’s outreach programs mix education, creativity and inspiration to bring music and arts to thousands of children at local schools. Free performances and exhibitions at hospitals, senior centers, coffee houses and other local venues bring the school’s services out of the classroom and into the community.
“Art makes things come alive,” said Arielle Baron, a third-grade student who participated in the Arts in Action program. “It can take you places. You can look at a picture and your imagination can take you to the place in the picture.”
And the children aren’t the only ones enjoying the benefits of arts in the classroom.
“Art is such an important part of education,” said Carrie Attell, a first-grade teacher at Meadow Heights School in San Mateo. “Children need to express ideas through art as well as in the core curriculum. The art the children receive through CSMA incorporates this and so much more.”
Keys to success
“The need we fill in the community is enormous,” said Jeffry Walker, executive director of CSMA. “There are no limits to who can be involved. We are providing open access for anyone of any age for something that is fundamentally a human activity.”
Walker said he is grateful for the immense community support, which he said helps the school function on a day-to-day basis.
Walker, who moved to the area from Connecticut last year, said he was surprised when he came to California and learned that the arts aren’t a strong component of public education. Currently the state of California is 48th in arts funding for public schools nationwide.
“So we have an ironic relationship with public education here,” Walker said. “We are successful because of the deficit in public education.”
Walker said that CSMA has a strong leadership team. The non-profit has a board of directors, which Walker claimed is the envy of other similar organizations. In addition, CSMA staff members are professionals in art and music.
“We are an extraordinary phenomenon beyond our neighborhood, beyond our community,” Walker said. “We can say with pride we are the largest non-profit provider for music and arts education in Northern California. We are also one of the 10 largest schools of our kind in the nation.”
Walker said future plans include the redesign of the CSMA Web site to feature an interactive component showcasing work by students and faculty.
Evy Schiffman, director of marketing and communications, said the Web site will connect the school and the community, offering an opportunity to interact with musicians and artists dedicated to sharing their creativity.
Walker said one of the biggest challenges of a successful organization is being perceived as successful.
“We only continue our success by getting continued support,” he said. “We think of ourselves as community builders, not just as art educators.”
Celebrating 40 years
CSMA has scheduled its 40th anniversary gala 6-11 p.m. March 29 at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, 2900 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. The evening will include a 40-year medley (1968-2008) of music and images and exhibitions by CSMA faculty and students. The silent and live auctions are unique in their offerings, with one-of-a-kind music experiences – for example, a private home concert with CSMA alumnus and Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti – and art, including works by Nathan Oliveira and Enrique Chagoya, wine and trips.
Proceeds benefit CSMA’s financial aid and education programs. Joining board members to support the event are representatives from the Morgan Family Foundation, the lead donor; and the Franklin and Catherine Johnson Foundation and Borel Private Bank and Trust Company. Tickets are $250 per person.
For more information, visit www.arts4all.org.
Contact Traci Newell at tracin@latc.com.
