Mundi Project providing piano access to underserved communities
Jun 07, 2021 12:46PM ● By Lindsey Baxter
iano painted from children and staff. (Photo courtesy of The Mundi Project)
By Lindsey Baxter | [email protected]
The Mundi Project was founded in 2006 by Hana Janatova to enrich the lives of those in the community by providing access to pianos. The mission of The Mundi Project is to actively break down socioeconomic and generational barriers by providing quality music experiences for all.
Dr. Ruby Chou, the executive director of The Mundi Project, was excited to talk about the local organization as it celebrates it’s 15th anniversary this year.
“The Mundi Project operates three main music programs for underserved communities of Utah— Harmony Hub, Mundi Live, and Piano Bank,” Chou explained. “As Mundi Project grows, we envision using musical learning as a conduit to create meaningful societal change. Our desire is to increase access to classes, performances, and instruments across the socioeconomic and generational spectrums.”
Chou joined The Mundi Project three years ago and has had numerous events and experiences with the organization since joining the team. Her favorite memory was launching their intergenerational program, she said.
“I completed research studies and a dissertation on intergenerational learning in the music classroom and I wanted to bring this type of learning to the community that I grew up in,” she said. “I decided to accept the executive director position in 2018 because of this very reason. In 2019, we launched our first intergenerational program at Neighborhood House where we brought "kidfriends" and "grandfriends" together to learn and explore music. It was a joy to visit the class each week to see how the grandfriends would light up and interact with the kidfriends through singing and movement.”
A few of Mundi’s upcoming events include:
- Pay-what-you-can Summer Zoom classes in piano, ukulele, voice, and classical guitar start June 14–July 22: www.mundiproject.org/learn/zoom-classes/
- June 11 at 6:30pm on the plaza at the Gateway: Concert from the Couch feat Jazzy Olivo, Latin Jazz Fusion singer/songwriter. Tickets are $5/person or $20/family up to eight members from the same household. Tickets: www.discoverygateway.org
If you would like to join in on the 15-year celebration, make sure to check out the website, Facebook or Instagram. All donations go directly to student tuition, instruments, performing artists and teaching artists. For more information about anything related to this musical organization, please check out mundiproject.org.
