Grantee Database
PURPLE SILK MUSIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Grant Year
2024-25
Grant Program
Impact Projects
Award Amount
$21,989.00
Project Description
With support from the California Arts Council (CAC), PURPLE SILK MUSIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION (PSMEF) will undertake Honor Our Elders: Music for Healing and Resilience, an intergenerational community-based music education project in Oakland. The CAC Impact Project grant will support Year 3 of this special learning unit designed to promote and preserve traditional Chinese music (specifically, Cantonese opera) and bring this music to the wider community, with focus on reaching local Asian seniors, who have been disproportionately impacted by the rise in anti-Asian violence in the local community and who continue to be isolated due to ongoing pandemic precautions for their age group. The project will engage 340 students (grades 1-12) from PSMEF’s weekend Chinese music program and residencies at four Oakland schools. CAC funds will be used to help underwrite artist fees for the project.
Organization Summary
CORE PROGRAMS/SERVICES:
In 2025, PSMEF marked its 30th Anniversary, celebrating three decades of service to the Bay Area community. This milestone anniversary also represented a turning point for PSMEF, as its long-time Artistic Director and several older artists retired. PSMEF’s Board had been preparing for this transition for several years, recruiting new Board members and artists in anticipation of these departures. PSMEF also hired its first Executive Director in January 2025.
As part of this leadership transition, PSMEF has recommitted to its original educational mission and decided to prioritize an enhanced community-based instructional program, while continuing to honor its commitment to performance. In mid-2025, PSMEF moved its core weekend program from Laney College to the Shoong Family Chinese Cultural Center (SFCCC), centrally located in the heart of Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood, its primary service area. The revised weekend program, now called the Purple Silk Music Academy (PSMA), features a multi-tiered Chinese music education curriculum focused on intensive instruction in traditional Chinese musical instruments, taught by PSMEF’s staff of Chinese music specialists. Instruction is delivered in a small group format, providing in-depth, individualized instruction over time for each student. PSMA also emphasizes ensemble work and upper-level students participate in the Purple Silk Youth Orchestra and perform at community events throughout the year, including Chinese New Year’s celebrations.
PSMEF also introduced a new curriculum for its Artists-in-Schools (AIS) program, Introduction to Chinese Music, developed by a former K-12 educator. It is actively pursuing partnerships with Chinese immersion schools throughout the Bay Area, as well as sites with afterschool Mandarin programs.
Finally, in 2025, PSMEF piloted its first Summer Music Program (SMP) to counteract “summer learning loss” for students enrolled in its weekend program. In 2026, it will continue the SMP at SFCCC and introduce a shorter summer program at one partner school.
Organization
PURPLE SILK MUSIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Address
1427 Willow St
Oakland
94607-1523
County
Alameda
Region
Bay Area – Other
Website
Congressional District
California's 12th Congressional District
State Assembly District
District 18
State Senate District
District 7
