Philosophy

Music Haven builds community by building strong relationships.

Learning how to play music together is a transformative experience. Music Haven empowers both professional musicians and youth by giving them opportunities to use music as a vehicle for personal, artistic, and community growth. Our programs foster trust and strengthen skills that are critical to building a vibrant community - responsibility, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving.

Music Haven practices "in-reach," performing and teaching regularly in the underserved communities in which we operate.

What We Do

Through the permanent residency of the Haven String Quartet, Music Haven provides free after-school education and performance programs that build long-term relationships between professional musicians, children, and families in four underserved neighborhoods of New Haven, CT.

The Haven String Quartet provides high-quality chamber music performances as well as string instrument lessons, performance opportunities, and mentoring for youth through free, yearlong, after-school programs.

All after-school programs, including string instruments, are completely tuition-free and are open to youth who reside or attend school in the Dixwell, Hill, Dwight, or Newhallville neighborhoods of New Haven. Each child is selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

History

Inspired by Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, and Bill Strickland's Manchester Guild in Pittsburgh, Yale School of Music graduate Tina Lee Hadari founded Music Haven in 2006. Convinced that a professional string quartet could contribute to positive social change in New Haven's urban communities, she created the opportunity for a string quartet to teach and perform in four of the city's most underserved neighborhoods.

In collaboration with generous individual donors in the New Haven region, a small Board of Directors, and the Vinca Quartet, Tina launched Music Haven to provide programs that engage and inspire New Haven youth and their families.

In the Fall of 2008, the Haven String Quartet was founded to fulfill the needs of Music Haven's mission. Each member of the Haven String Quartet teaches instrument lessons, mentors students, and performs for the entire community.