FARMINGDALE, NY — The D’Addario Foundation announces the recipients of its 2026 Community Music Grants (CMG), supporting 139 nonprofit music education programs providing free or affordable instruction in high-needs communities around the world.
Through the 2026 CMG program, the Foundation awarded $411,750 in cash grants and $86,000 in in-kind support, helping expand access to music education for an estimated 113,000 individuals worldwide. Together, these partners are creating opportunities for students of all ages to grow and thrive through music.
Among this year’s recipients is El Sistema Japan, a first-time grantee serving children and youth in underserved and disaster-affected communities through free programs. The D’Addario Foundation is delighted to welcome them to its global community of music education partners.
The impact of CMG partnerships is made possible by supporters who believe in the power of music education. Donations help the D’Addario Foundation expand access to music programs and support future grant opportunities around the world. To learn more or donate, visit D’Addario Foundation Donate.
2026 Community Music Grant Recipients
- 18 Degrees, Inc. - Kids 4 Harmony (Pittsfield, MA)
- A Place Called Home - Music Program (Los Angeles, CA)
- Agape National Academy of Music (ANAM) (Monrovia, Liberia)
- Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers (Phoenix, AZ)
- All City Music (Minneapolis, MN)
- Alleghany JAM (Sparta, NC)
- Allentown Symphony Association - El Sistema Lehigh Valley (Allentown, PA)
- Ars Musicae Guatemala (Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatamala)
- Art and Unity for Vulnerable Development (AUVD) (Kakuma, Kenya)
- Artistas y Músicos Latinoamericanos (AMLA) (Philadelphia, PA)
- Arts+ - Project Harmony (Charlotte, NC)
- Asociația Superar (Superar Romania) (Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania)
- Atlanta Music Project (Atlanta, GA)
- Austin Classical Guitar (Austin, TX)
- Austin Soundwaves (Austin, TX)
- Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, Inc. (Lutherville Timonium, MD)
- Belongó (New York, NY)
- BLUME Haiti (Haiti)
- Brooklyn Steppers (Brooklyn, NY)
- Buffalo String Works (Buffalo, NY)
- California Symphony Orchestra Inc - Sound Minds (Walnut Creek, CA)
- Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (Cape Town, South Africa)
- Catamount Film and Arts Co. - EPIC Music (St. Johnsbury, VT)
- Center of Life (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project (Chicago, IL)
- Chocolate Africa Classical Guitar Society of Nigeria (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Cleveland Classical Guitar Society (Cleveland, OH)
- Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH)
- Cleveland School of the Arts - Music Program (Rocky River, OH)
- Cobra Performing Arts, Inc (Yonkers, NY)
- Columbus Symphony (Columbus, OH)
- Community MusicWorks (Providence, RI)
- ComMUSICation (St. Paul, MN)
- Conservatory Lab Foundation - El Sistema Music Program (Dorchester, MA)
- Creative Hope International, Inc. (Torrance, CA)
- Crescendo Detroit (Detroit, MI)
- Crescendo Phoenixville (Phoenixville, PA)
- Cuyahoga Community College Foundation - Cuyahoga Community College Creative Arts Academy (Cleveland, OH)
- Daniel's Music Foundation (New York, NY)
- DC Youth Orchestra Program (Washington, DC)
- Drake Music Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland)
- East Bay Center for the Performing Arts (Richmond, CA)
- East Lake Expression Engine (Chattanooga, TN)
- Edmonton Symphony Society - Youth Orchestra of Northern Alberta (YONA) (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
- Education Through Music (New York, NY)
- El Paso Symphony Orchestra Assn., Inc. - Tocando Music Project (El Paso, TX)
- El Sistema Colorado (Denver, CO)
- El Sistema Japan (Tokyo, Japan)
- El Sistema Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, OK)
- El Sistema Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Electric Moon Foundation (Van Nuys, CA)
- Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (New Orleans, LA)
- Empire State Youth Orchestra (Schenectady, NY)
- Ensemble de violoncelles de Montréal (Montreal, QC, Canada)
- Free to Dream - Rebirth of Sound (Encino, CA)
- Fundacion Música y País (San Juan, PR)
- Global Arts Corporation (Los Angeles, CA)
- Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies - Harmony (St. Paul, MN)
- Guitars Antiqua Music Program (Gardena, CA)
- Guitars Over Guns Organization, Inc. (Chicago, IL)
- Harmony Program (New York, NY)
- Harmony Project Bay Area (San Francisco, CA)
- Headlong Dance Theater - Mad Beatz Philly (Philadelphia, PA)
- Heart of Los Angeles Youth, Inc. (HOLA) - Music Program (Los Angeles, CA)
- Houston Youth Symphony - Coda Music Program (Houston, TX)
- Huntsville Community Drumline (Huntsville, Al)
- iASO Cultural Foundation - Academia de Bachata (New York, NY)
- In The Band (Santa Monica, CA)
- INTEMPO Organization Inc. (Stamford, CT)
- Internal Creations (New York, NY)
- Intonation Music (Chicago, IL)
- Jazz Empowers (Nashville, TN)
- Kaufman Music Center - Special Music School (New York, NY)
- Kawartha Youth Orchestra - Upbeat! (Peterborough, ON, Canada)
- Kids In Concert (Bainbridge Island, WA)
- Kidznotes (Durham, NC)
- L.A.C.E.R. Afterschool Programs (Los Angeles, CA)
- La Jolla Music Society - Community Music Center (CMC) (La Jolla, CA)
- Latino Arts, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI)
- Lead Guitar (Tucson, AZ)
- Lines and Spaces, Inc (Belmont, MA)
- Merit School of Music - Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI) (Chicago, IL)
- Midori & Friends - Play to Learn (New York, NY)
- Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit - Junior Ensemble (Detroit, MI)
- Musaik - Grenzenlos musizieren e.V. (Dresden, Germany)
- Musica Franklin, Inc (Greenfield, MA)
- Musicambia, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY)
- Musicopia - Musicopia Drumlines (Philadelphia, PA)
- MusicWorks (Leicester, NC)
- Nantucket Community Music Center - Nantucket Island Youth Orchestra (Nantucket, MA)
- New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, Inc. - Sistema New Brunswick (Moncton, NB, Canada)
- New City Kids (Jersey City, NJ)
- New Mexico Philharmonic - Young Musician Initiative (Albuquerque, NM)
- New West Symphony Association - Laby Harmony Project (Thousand Oaks, CA)
- Northeast Community Center - Harmony Project KC (Kansas City, MO)
- Oakland Symphony (Oakland, CA)
- Oaktown Jazz Workshops (Oakland, CA)
- Opportunity Music Project (New York, NY)
- Opus 118 Harlem School of Music (New York, NY)
- OrKidstra - Sistema Ottawa (Ottawa, ON, Canada)
- Peabody Institute at the Johns Hopkins University - Tuned-In (Baltimore, MD)
- Peace through Music International (Litchfield Park, UT)
- Play On Philly (Philadelphia, PA)
- Project STEP (Boston, MA)
- Rainey Institute - Rainey School of Music (Cleveland, OH)
- Reno Philharmonic Association - RPA Kids (RPAK) (Reno, NV)
- Rock to the Future (Philadelphia, PA)
- Rosie's House: A Music Academy for Children (Phoenix, AZ)
- San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory - The Opus Project (San Diego, CA)
- Santa Rosa Symphony Association - Simply Strings (Santa Rosa, CA)
- Se'wá Tocando el Futuro A.C (Chihuahua, Mexico)
- Segundo Barrio Children's Chorus (Houston, TX)
- Sitar Arts Center (Washington, DC)
- Songbirds Foundation (Chattanooga, TN)
- SOUNDS Academy (Phoenix, AZ)
- Soundscapes Inc. (Newport News, VA)
- St. Louis Classical Guitar - Guitar Horizons (St. Louis, MO)
- St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Inc. - Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's (New York, NY)
- Superar Hungary (Budapest, Hungary)
- Superar-Verein zur Förderung der Musik (Vienna, Austria)
- Temple Talents Foundation (Soroti, Uganda)
- The Cleveland Orchestra - Crescendo (Cleveland, OH)
- The Harmony Project (Los Angeles, CA)
- The Heights Center - MOSAIC (Fort Myers, FL)
- The Jessye Norman School of the Arts, Inc. (Augusta, GA)
- The MusicianShip (Washington, DC)
- The Roots of Music (New Orleans, LA)
- The Sanitansamble Philanthropic Association - The Sanitansamble Youth Orchestra (Naples, Italy)
- The Symphonia - Strings & Self-Esteem (Boca Raton, FL)
- The Texas Supremacy of Music & Arts Conservatory (Dallas, TX)
- Urban Youth Harp Ensemble (Atlanta, GA)
- VanderCook College of Music - One City Music Program (Chicago, IL)
- West Point School of Music (Chicago, IL)
- Wharton Arts - Paterson Music Project (Berkeley Heights, NJ)
- WHIN Music Community Charter School (New York, NY)
- Women's Audio Mission - Girls on the Mic (San Francisco, CA)
- Worcester Chamber Music Society - Neighborhood Strings (Worcester, MA)
- Yakima Music en Acción (YAMA) (Yakima, WA)
- Young Musicians Unite (Miami, FL)