Community Connections Partner: Kids in Concert

Kids in Concert (KIC) is a free music and youth development program on Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula. Modeled after El Sistema, the internationally renowned youth orchestra movement from Venezuela, KIC was founded on the idea that every child should be able to access the benefits of music education with no barriers. The program operates within the Port Madison Reservation of the Suquamish Tribe of Indians, reflecting its commitment to serving Kitsap’s Indigenous families. KIC offers an after-school string, percussion and choir program four days per week, as well as a student-led musical theater and chamber music summer camp. 

KIC began in 2010 as a partnership between founder and Artistic Director Laura Milleson and the Suquamish Tribe’s Early Learning Center. KIC’s first year as an after-school program consisted of 11 students playing paper violins. Since then, it has grown into a robust program serving over 70 students, ages 6–18, from diverse communities across north Kitsap County, including Suquamish, Indianola, Kingston, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island. Over 50 percent of KIC students identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC). KIC students progress through the program at their own pace and in consultation with their teachers, eventually participating in one of two string and percussion ensembles. As part of its commitment to youth development, KIC trains exceptional high school musicians to become paid teachers in the program.  

KIC lives by its mission of “cultivating compassion and developmental well-being of youth through the healing power of music.” In addition to encouraging musical excellence, KIC is committed to seeing students through their entire educational journey, providing homework help, assisting with college applications and post-high school plans, leading college tours and even helping families navigate the financial aid process. Middle and high school students become mentors to younger students, creating opportunities for them to develop leadership skills, and to model KIC’s values of kindness and compassion to younger students. All students also participate in weekly programming in social and emotional well-being through KIC’s Healthy and Whole program, led by qualified mental health professionals.  

On KIC’s collaboration with the Seattle Symphony, Milleson writes, “When KIC began 10 years ago in a small classroom with 11 students playing paper violins, the opportunity to collaborate with Seattle Symphony musicians on the Benaroya Hall stage was only a dream. Now in the second year of our partnership, we are thrilled to see this dream become a reality. Creating opportunities and possibilities is at the heart of what we do, and we are so grateful to the Seattle Symphony for helping us strengthen our community and for helping us make space for our students to find their voice.” 

Kids in Concert plays a side-by-side with the Seattle Symphony on April 19, 2024, as part of the Potlatch Symphony 2020 Community Concert program. Admission is free.

To learn more about Kids in Concert, visit kidsinconcert.org.

Kids in Concert is one of more than 70 partners in the Seattle Symphony’s Community Connections program, which provides complimentary tickets to nonprofit organizations across the Puget Sound region.