Photos: Music to break the spiral of gloom, violence in Baltimore

As the conductor raises her baton, dozens of children come to order, and their everyday cacophonous chatting gives way to a melodic cascade of notes. The 60 or so students are part of OrchKids, a program run by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which is hoping to bring change to the troubled city through the power of music.

Updated on: Apr 26, 2019 12:05 PM IST

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Stefany Carbajal, a cellist in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program, practices with other members at the Highlandtown Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland. “We are trying to combat some of the social challenges here in Baltimore,” said program director Nick Skinner. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Jane Cromwell (C), leads the String Fling concert at the Lockerman Bundy Elementary School. A recent concert took place just a few blocks from where Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, was arrested in April 2015. Gray fell into a coma while in police custody and later died, the incident sparking violent protests in Baltimore, a port city plagued by violence, drugs and crime. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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“Charm City” is now one of the most violent in the United States, with an average of more than 300 murders a year. Nearly a quarter of its 620,000 residents live below the poverty line. In recent years, urban renewal projects have sought to break the spiral of gloom, but in some neighbourhoods, only a few blocks separate condemned buildings from hip hotspots. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Diyon Gross, a cellist in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's OrchKids program, arrives for practice. Those behind OrchKids remain optimistic. In all, 1,300 children -- from grade school to high school -- are enrolled in the program, which offers them free music education, four afternoons a week after school. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Mentor Carolyn Rosinsky (C) helps tune a cello for Stefany Carbaja. The program offers them a safe place to go after school without charge -- easing the minds of busy parents who would otherwise need child care or leave children unsupervised. “We’re providing not only academic support but also a healthy snack and a dinner before they go home,” Skinner explained. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Tyrianna Graham, am eight-year-old violinist, rests between practices. “There was no trust,” Skinner added, recalling the long history of distrust, especially in the city’s African American community, toward local officials and a police force seen as racist and corrupt. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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A teacher directs students to their instruments before the String Fling concert. This year, that first class of 30 students is getting ready to graduate from high school and some will head on to university -- firsts for many families involved. Some of the OrchKids students have studied at the prestigious summer camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Daisy Mendez, a harpist, performs during the String Fling concert. Even if music is not a career option for most of the students enrolled in OrchKids, the program offers them a perspective that is not always available to inner-city kids, especially in Charm City. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Children cheer for the music as parents, family and friends watch concert. Bella, a middle schooler who also plays bassoon, knows that her participation in OrchKids will give her a leg up when it comes time to apply for college, even if she does not want to be a musician. “It’s a good way to teach patience,” she said. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Ja’Nasia Hall, a cellist, performs during the String Fling concert. The Baltimore Symphony’s long-time conductor, Marin Alsop, has lent her considerable influence to OrchKids. She said using her platform to make classical music more accessible, and possibly offer a positive influence to children in her home city, was important to her. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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A young cellist with worn pants in the OrchKids program, rests between performances. “The issues of violence that we face are pretty overwhelming,” Alsop explained, adding that the city’s children “live under a lot of stress. That really takes a toll and I think through programs like OrchKids, they start to see a different kind of future,” she added. (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Morgan Headspeth (L), Kimora Utsey (C) and Tabria McRae (R), perform. “They’re able to travel to play... they’re receiving positive affirmation for what they’re doing,” Alsop said. “As a result, many of them are looking at futures that they wouldn’t have considered before.” (Jim Watson / AFP)

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Dajuan Gross walks over to his parents after the concert. Alsop -- who also leads the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and is chief conductor designate of the Vienna Radio Symphony -- hopes to reach 10,000 children through OrchKids. That would be one in eight kids in Baltimore’s public schools. “I’d love Baltimore to become known as the City of Music rather than the City of Murder,” she said. (Jim Watson / AFP)