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UMKC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Youth Programming

UMKC’s Conservatory Bridges Program Creates a Melody of University Expertise and Community Need

Aspiring young musicians from underrepresented populations of the Kansas City metro area receive engaging, high-quality instruction in the performing arts.

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Community Engagement, Program
UMKC’s Conservatory Bridges Program Creates a Melody of University Expertise and Community Need
A Conservatory Bridges student performs at the KC Scholars/Bridges luncheon in Fall 2019.

Since 2007, the Conservatory Bridges program (formally Musical Bridges) at the UMKC Conservatory has helped students from underrepresented populations in the Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas public school systems explore their interest in the performing arts.


Conservatory Bridges assists students in achieving academic success in secondary education and prepares them for a collegiate performing arts program. Participants receive one-on-one instrumental and performance instruction from UMKC faculty to prepare them for selective university program auditions.


“Our students work extremely hard, so it is incredibly rewarding to see them grow into capable talented artists who are being accepted into performing arts programs all over the country,” said Elizabeth Valle, director of the UMKC Conservatory Academy.


Recently, the Conservatory Bridges program connected with two Kansas City nonprofits; Band of Angels, a charity that provides at-risk students with free musical instruments, and KC Scholars, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to Kansas City students. This connection created the possibility for students to receive an instrument to play while in Conservatory Bridges coupled with scholarships that helped reduce the cost of postsecondary education.