Albuquerque, New Mexico
Kithara Project's Albuquerque program is its youngest. Run in partnership with Maestra Genevieve Leitner and Valle Vista Elementary School, in Albuquerque's South Valley, the program welcomes 24 students between the ages of 8 and 11 for weekly guitar classes. The program also doubles as a teaching mentorship program for more experienced, high-school aged students from Albuquerque Academy, where Ms. Leitner is also on faculty. The student body of Valle Vista Elementary is approximately 90% bilingual, thus positioning the program as an ideal "bridge" between Kithara Project's other programs in Mexico City and Boston. Students already exchange handwritten letters and are looking forward to a visit by their Mexican counterparts in the 2019/2020 school year.