Prof Barbara Gawlick receives a Corcoran Center Community Engagement award

The Music Department is delighted to announce that Prof. Barbara Gawlick has received a Corcoran Center Community Engagement award to support her efforts working virtually with music outreach and teaching in the community. The Corcoran Center Community Engagement Awards support virtual community-focused teaching and research in Boston Neighborhoods that have been most impacted by COVID-19. These communities are often on the opposite side of the digital divide from Boston College.

The Boston College Music Outreach program, under the direction of professor Barbara Gawlick, has been serving underprivileged and socio-economically disadvantaged children and teens since 2012. This program recruits Boston College students to provide music lessons/music tutoring in two inner-city schools in Allston/Brighton communities. Students volunteer to teach keyboard lessons in an after-school program at the Gardner Pilot Academy and lead keyboard labs and band instrument lessons at the Thomas Edison K-8 school.

Despite the pandemic, BC students selflessly continue to provide virtual music lessons in these schools, thus critically contributing to the education of nearly 100 children/teens, who otherwise would neither have access nor the ability to afford music lessons. These lessons go well beyond learning music; they also serve as an invaluable mentorship program that profoundly affects both the children and BC students. The Corcoran Center Community Engagement Award as well as Service and Justice grant play an essential role in these difficult times by providing for the purchase of needed instruments, music materials and books required for virtual teaching and learning. These BC grants and the efforts of all involved in the Music Outreach truly exemplify Boston College’s commitment to service as expressed in the university motto "Men and Women for Others".