Miami Music Project Programs
Miami Music Project, Inc. at Büro Central, 101 NW 8th St, Ste. 200, Miami, FL 33136
About
Miami Music Project Programs include Children’s Orchestras, a Summer Music Camp, the Pathways: Young Musicians Development Program, and the Miami Music Project Youth Orchestra. The programs also include Teaching Artist Training Institute sessions, Teaching Artist Training Orchestra Boot Camps, a MusicLab season, and a MusicLab Finale Concert. Students take part in events and performance opportunities, and some programs are offered through an In-School Residency program.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
Miami Music Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to acquire values and achieve their full potential, positively affecting their society through the study and performance of music. It is an El Sistema–modeled program with community chapters in Doral, Little Haiti, Liberty City, and Little Havana, and its Children’s Orchestras program operates in multiple neighborhoods. The organization focuses on developing values of community, sharing, teamwork, creativity, discipline, perseverance, self-esteem, inspiring excellence, improving school performance, and strengthening family unity.
Miami Music Project was founded in 2008 by Maestro James Judd and was established that year as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Its history includes a 16-year journey of transforming the lives of thousands of youth as of the 2024 Music Cities Award, with documented milestones from 2008 through 2017. The leadership team includes Miami Music Project President and CEO Anna Klimala, founder Maestro James Judd, and Board Member Nicole Henry, a jazz musician and philanthropist, with endorsements and invitations involving Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Mayor Tomas Regalado.
Miami Music Project has established a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and received an endorsement from Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. It has programming alliances with FIU Music, FIU Center for Children and Families, and New World Symphony, and participates with other El Sistema–inspired programs in the Leadership Forum for Young Musicians in Los Angeles, California. Selected students have joined the East Coast Seminario to create large orchestras at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, appeared with Sony Masterworks artist The Piano Guys, attended the MusicLab season and MusicLab Finale Concert, and performed at events including the Aspen Music Festival, Bard College New York, and the Florida Democratic Party Leadership Gala for Keynote Speaker Vice President Joe Biden.
Miami Music Project is the winner of the 2024 Music Cities Awards in the category of “Best Initiative to Support Diversity & Inclusion in Music,” and was selected among 300 candidates from 19 countries and six continents. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded the organization a $1 million challenge grant, and it has received its first National Endowment for the Arts grant and first support from the State of Florida. It has also received 100% of requested funding from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs in direct support of fees for Miami Music Project Teaching Artists, a special proclamation from the School Board of Miami-Dade County recognizing it as a provider of “relevant, rigorous and innovative academics,” and the Superintendent’s Choice Award 2017, the highest honor given to community-based organizations by the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
According to President and CEO Anna Klimala, the 2024 Music Cities Award is described as a testament to the impact and power of collective action and a recognition of the role of music in building a brighter, more inclusive future for youth and the community, and she states that through music education the organization is nurturing a future workforce for Miami’s growth. Board Member Nicole Henry states that music has helped her connect with others and understand life, and that she serves on the Board of Miami Music Project because she believes in children, education, and the power of music, and believes that when given an opportunity, children will flourish and live a happy life.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
Miami Music Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to acquire values and achieve their full potential, positively affecting their society through the study and performance of music. It is an El Sistema–modeled program with community chapters in Doral, Little Haiti, Liberty City, and Little Havana, and its Children’s Orchestras program operates in multiple neighborhoods. The organization focuses on developing values of community, sharing, teamwork, creativity, discipline, perseverance, self-esteem, inspiring excellence, improving school performance, and strengthening family unity.
Miami Music Project was founded in 2008 by Maestro James Judd and was established that year as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Its history includes a 16-year journey of transforming the lives of thousands of youth as of the 2024 Music Cities Award, with documented milestones from 2008 through 2017. The leadership team includes Miami Music Project President and CEO Anna Klimala, founder Maestro James Judd, and Board Member Nicole Henry, a jazz musician and philanthropist, with endorsements and invitations involving Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Mayor Tomas Regalado.
Miami Music Project has established a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and received an endorsement from Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. It has programming alliances with FIU Music, FIU Center for Children and Families, and New World Symphony, and participates with other El Sistema–inspired programs in the Leadership Forum for Young Musicians in Los Angeles, California. Selected students have joined the East Coast Seminario to create large orchestras at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, appeared with Sony Masterworks artist The Piano Guys, attended the MusicLab season and MusicLab Finale Concert, and performed at events including the Aspen Music Festival, Bard College New York, and the Florida Democratic Party Leadership Gala for Keynote Speaker Vice President Joe Biden.
Miami Music Project is the winner of the 2024 Music Cities Awards in the category of “Best Initiative to Support Diversity & Inclusion in Music,” and was selected among 300 candidates from 19 countries and six continents. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded the organization a $1 million challenge grant, and it has received its first National Endowment for the Arts grant and first support from the State of Florida. It has also received 100% of requested funding from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs in direct support of fees for Miami Music Project Teaching Artists, a special proclamation from the School Board of Miami-Dade County recognizing it as a provider of “relevant, rigorous and innovative academics,” and the Superintendent’s Choice Award 2017, the highest honor given to community-based organizations by the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
According to President and CEO Anna Klimala, the 2024 Music Cities Award is described as a testament to the impact and power of collective action and a recognition of the role of music in building a brighter, more inclusive future for youth and the community, and she states that through music education the organization is nurturing a future workforce for Miami’s growth. Board Member Nicole Henry states that music has helped her connect with others and understand life, and that she serves on the Board of Miami Music Project because she believes in children, education, and the power of music, and believes that when given an opportunity, children will flourish and live a happy life.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
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