Spaghetti noodles and violin strings brought people together on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Chapman Elementary School in Anchor Point. The fundraiser was in support of Homer OPUS, a local nonprofit organization that runs the violins-in-the-school program. The program serves elementary students at Paul Banks, Fireweed, and Chapman.
OPUS formed in 2019 as a collaboration among various youth string programs in Homer.
Board member Lyn Maslow said the program was originally inspired by Juneau’s JAMM, a tuition-free music program founded in 2010 that now serves more than 600 students across various schools in the Juneau School District.
Chapman is the newest of the three schools to join the violins-in-the-school program.
“It’s been a little awkward sometimes to run a program between Anchor Point and Homer but we’ve been really excited about the way it’s unified the two communities,” Maslow said. “The community just loves the program and they’re able to do a lot of different programs with these kids and they get to perform a lot. They were at the regional volleyball tournament; they’re going to be at the talent show. I mean, they’ve got three events this week. They’re just booked!”
The fundraiser came ahead of the organization’s large-scale spring concert, Sea of Strings, which will feature more than 200 students, including Homer Youth String Orchestra Club and the Codas Ensemble, in addition to the elementary school groups.
Maslow said that the event will premiere new music composed by local musician Johnny B.
“He just finished the last piece, something about swimming salmon,” she said. “It’s a beautiful piece and it’s incorporating everybody, including the kindergartens.”
The fundraiser was a success, raising around $1,000 for the program. If you’d like to donate directly, you can do so online by visiting their website at homeropus.org.
Sea of Strings will be held April 10 at the Homer Mariner Theatre and is free for community members to attend. The music will begin at 6 p.m.
This story has been updated to reflect the correct event date as April 10.
Reach reporter Chloe Pleznac at chloe.pleznac@homernews.com.
Students perform at the Homer OPUS fundraiser on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Chapman School in Anchor Point. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
