Community Newsletter
January 2022
Dear Friends of East Bay Center,

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a joyous and safe holiday season. As we begin this year with some uncertainty, we also hold hope and optimism inspired by the resilience of our students and community over the past two years. Our new session of group classes is currently scheduled to start on January 31st. We are hoping to return to in-person instruction this session, but we are monitoring the COVID situation carefully. On that note, Center staff will be working from home until January 24th, at which time we will reevaluate. We dearly miss our students and community and hope we can see you in person soon!

There are some exciting leadership transitions which are taking us into the new year! As you may have heard, in December our Artistic Director, Jordan Simmons retired, after 43 years as a leader at the Center. We were able to celebrate his legacy with staff, faculty and some community members and we look forward to further honoring his service to the Center with the rest of the community later this year, after he takes a much-deserved rest. Ruthie Dineen has officially started her new role as our Executive Director, after serving in several positions at the Center over the past 12 years, most recently as Managing Director. We have some other staffing updates including former Director of School and Neighborhood Partnerships, Andrea Landín, stepping into her new role as Senior Director of Programs, and Bryan Alvarez, former Instructional Music Specialist, is now our Associate Director of School Partnerships. We will keep you posted as we anticipate welcoming other new staff members throughout this year.

We wish you good health and happiness in the year to come!
Pictured above: East Bay Center's Richmond Chamber Ensemble performs in "A Richmond Nutcracker"
Spring Group Class Registration

January 18-February 7: Group Class Registration is Open

January 31: Group Classes Begin
Winter Performance Recap
We had some beautiful virtual year-end performances. Our students spread holiday cheer with our annual Richmond Nutcracker and our group classes showed off what they learned this semester in our Sharing the Spirit showcase. If you missed them, not to worry, you can still watch below!
A Richmond Nutcracker
Sharing the Spirit
Now Accepting Applications for the Young Artist Diploma Program!

The Young Artist Diploma Program provides up to six years of tuition-free intensive study of performing arts, designed to give students a critical set of skills they will be able to use in college and beyond.

Due to limited space, the Center will prioritize applicants who are entering the 7th and 8th grades in the fall. However, high school students who are a good match for the program are encouraged to apply and will be accepted as space becomes available. 

Announcing Our New Associate Director of School Partnerships: Bryan Alvarez!
We are excited to welcome Dr. Bryan Alvarez into his new role as Associate Director of School Partnerships. Bryan has worked for 2.5 years as the Center's Instructional Music Specialist, and his familiarity with the Center's mission and community, as well as his experience working with public schools, has made him an excellent fit for this position.
Bryan is an educator, entrepreneur, researcher, and professional musician. He graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music with dual degrees in Biology and Trombone Performance, and from UC Berkeley with a PhD in Psychology where he studied the brain-based mechanisms of multi-sensory blending (synesthesia). While at Berkeley, Bryan co-founded three educational outreach programs for K-12 and college students, and continued his educational efforts after completing his doctorate by founding and teaching two music programs in the Oakland Unified School District. He is a seasoned public speaker, having delivered 50+ talks for venues including the Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, and TEDxBerkeley. Bryan is also a professional classical trombonist in the Bay Area and plays bandoneon with Seth Asarnow y su Sexteto Tipico.
Hear From Our Students
"I felt very excited about starting the Diploma Program this summer because it is something that I have always wanted to do since I started with East Bay Center at four years old. I was part of the preschool program where I remember loving the snacks and the teachers. I always knew that being part of the Diploma Program was something I had to do.  I am grateful for the Center to push me and at the same time allowing me to be authentic. Being a part of ITUB with Ms. Miya and my colleagues, learning Samba with Ezra and my passion for Hip Hop with Mr. D and Tarik all inspired me this summer and still inspire me!"

-Sicily, 12 year old Diploma Student

Sicily is passionate about expression through movement, choreography, and fashion. She is a student of Dance, Fiddle, Visual Arts, Voice, and Surfing. She has danced with Berkeley Ballet Theatre Nutcracker and Spring Show, OSA summer intensive, and performed fiddle for Manning Music. She dreams of starting a clothing line, becoming a lawyer, and becoming a member of Congress. Sicily also enjoys eating chocolate, attempting/accomplishing contortion movements, and braiding.
"I really missed the in person feeling of the summer, as it was always a highlight of my year, and I’m sad to have missed my final summer. The online classes themselves were good, too. I feel like I learned a lot even with the challenges of online teaching."

-Calvin, 17 year old Diploma Student

Calvin has taken classes at the Center for over 4 years with his sisters, Abby and Cheyenne. Although he has taken a wide variety of classes at the Center, Calvin's artistic focus is playing the cello. Calvin also is a big fan of Anime and is vice president of the Anime Club at his school. He also enjoys volunteering at school events. This year Calvin will be focusing on completing his college applications, and deepening his study of the cello at the Center.
Leave Us a Review!
Like our work? Let us know by leaving a review on Great Nonprofits or Yelp! This can help others in the community who would benefit from our services find us and learn more about us. We appreciate your support!
Buy East Bay Center a gift! Check out our Amazon Wishlist, where we recently added many items that are useful to the Center's programs and operations.
East Bay Center is grateful for the support of:

Anonymous Foundation, Anonymous Fund of the East Bay Community Foundation, Bandcamp Inc., Berklee City Music Network, Louis L. Borick Foundation, California Arts Council, The California Endowment, Chamberlin Education Foundation, City of Richmond, Clif Family Foundation, Contra Costa County CDBG Program, S.H. Cowell Foundation, Crankstart, Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, D’Addario Foundation, Dale Fund of the SF Foundation, John Derning Fund of the SF Foundation, Dodge & Cox, ELMA Music Foundation, Equity Community Builders, Farella Braun + Martel LLP, Fenwick Family Foundation, Fullerton Family Foundation of the Marin Community Foundation, Bill Graham Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation, Hellman Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Interactive Resources, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Kaiser Permanente, Koret Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Richard & Emily Levin Foundation, Levin Richmond Terminal Corp, Lewis Prize for Music, Littler Mendelson Foundation, Mechanics Bank, Meyer Sound Laboratories, Moca Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Overaa Construction, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Richmond Foundation for Children & Youth, San Francisco Foundation, Irene S. Scully Family Fund of the Marin Community Foundation, Sequoia Trust of the SF Foundation, Morris Stulsaft Foundation, Tencue, Travis Credit Union, Wayne & Gladys Valley Foundation, Wareham Development, Wells Fargo Bank, Bernard E. & Alba Witkin Charitable Foundation, Zalec Familian & Lilian Levinson Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, and Corporate Employee Gift Programs at Adobe, AT&T, Autodesk, Bank of America, Chevron, Clorox, Dolby, GE, Kaiser, LPL Investors, Oracle, PG&E, Semantec, UPS, Wells Fargo, Verisk, Walt Disney and City, State, Federal employees.
You are receiving this email because you've expressed interest in the programs affiliated with
East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. We appreciate your participation in our community.

Copyright © 2022 East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, all rights reserved.