Image (L to R): Teaching Artists Paul Boisvert, Harman Kaler, and Dan Thomas stand with twelve music students during the Spring 2025 Showcase at the WCHoC.

May 2025 Newsletter: A New Monthly Look at OpporTUNEity

Welcome to the May edition of our monthly newsletter!

Each month, we take a step back in our newsletter to share big-picture updates across our work- major events and performance, grant funding, company news, and how these moments tie into our mission. We also spotlight program opportunities for alumni and share upcoming events and highlights from ongoing partnerships.

This complements our Weekly Updates, which focus on sharing quick updates and video content posted through our social media pages.

This month brought end-of-semester performances, new grant funding, and a celebration as one of our team members begins an exciting new chapter.

Here are a few highlights from across our programs:

Image: Sheriff Lew Evangelidis addresses audience members during the Spring 2025 Showcase at the WCHoC.

Image: Paul Boisvert playing guitar during a music gig.

This spring, we say farewell to Teaching Artist Paul Boisvert as he begins the next chapter of his academic and professional journey. A key part of the OpporTUNEity team since our earliest days in Worcester, Paul first joined our organization as a college intern in 2019. Over the past seven years, he has played an integral role in developing and delivering programming across correctional and community settings, eventually becoming a lead instructor.

In addition to his strong musicianship- performing in ensembles ranging from big bands to pit orchestras- Paul brought patience, empathy, and a deep commitment to student-centered teaching. His work has spanned our Songwriting Fundamentals and Introduction to Guitar, Piano, and Percussion classes at the WCHoC, our after school programming with with the Joy of Music Program, and more recently, our growing Songwriters Circle.

Reflecting on his time with OpporTUNEity, Paul shared the following:



“Throughout my 7 year tenure with OpporTUNEity I’ve grown not only as an educator, but as a well-rounded person. As a fresh faced 18 year old, I admittedly had no idea what was in store for me starting as an intern in a correctional facility. Beyond the walls I was met with eager students, hungry to learn more about music and songwriting. This ignited a fire in me, giving me the fervor to grow into the best educator I could be to serve my students. Years later after being promoted to a lead instructor, I had an interaction with a student that continues to resonate with me to this day. At the end of class (a particularly lecture-based discussion on the construction and usage of metaphor) a student approached me, extended his hand into my own, looked me dead in the eye and said ‘thank you for your knowledge.’ Moving into my graduate studies in music theory at UNC Greensboro, this rings in my head daily. I have all the thanks in the world for OpporTUNEity, its mission and work, as well as Melissa Martiros and my mentors Dan Thomas and Tom Wilson for giving me the space to grow as an educator, musician and a person who leads with empathy and compassion.”

Paul completed his undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2024 and will be continuing his education in Music Theory at UNC Greensboro this fall. We are deeply grateful for his contributions to our mission and wish him the very best in this next stage of his journey.

Image: OpporTUNEity students and faculty gather with the DA for a photo at the Joy of Music Program.

We are pleased to announce that OpporTUNEity Community Connections has received a $1,500 grant from the Office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. This funding, awarded through the District Attorney's Drug Forfeiture Community Reinvestment Program, supports our after-school music classes for Lincoln St. School students at the Joy of Music Program.

The grant funding supports our efforts to acquire and maintain classroom instruments, ensuring our students have access to quality materials that enhance their learning experience. It also aids in supporting our exceptional team, including Worcester Public School Liaison, Mrs. Landry, and our Creative Expression Instructor, Catie Verostick, MT-BC, whose experience and dedication have been vital to maintaining a strong partnership with Worcester Public Schools.

We extend our sincere gratitude to District Attorney Early for his ongoing commitment to community enrichment through the reinvestment of drug forfeiture funds into local initiatives. This partnership demonstrates our shared dedication to creating positive, music-based opportunities for underserved youth in Worcester County.

Image: Songwriters Circle participants gather for a group photo at Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center.

On Tuesday, April 29, participants in our OpporTUNEity Songwriters Circle gathered at Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center (EDM) as Teaching Artist Dan DeCristofaro took the stage to perform ten original songs co-written by the group.

This semester, the Songwriters Circle met weekly to support adults in their reintegration journey through collaborative songwriting and music-making. Our program at EDM runs in parallel with a second Songwriters Circle at Community Compass, part of Open Sky Community Services, which provides behavioral health and peer support services centered on recovery and resilience.

Our Teaching Artist Dan DeCristofaro is a Massachusetts-based singer, songwriter, producer, and arranger who has been active in the New England music scene for over a decade. He is a founding member of the Blue Light Bandits, an independent groove rock band with over three million Spotify streams, and was recently awarded the 2024 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Song of the Year as part of the duo quiet thrill. Dan's insight, kindness, and thoughtful leadership continue to shape the Songwriters Circle into a supportive and uplifting space.

This initiative is about building relationships, offering support, and helping individuals reconnect with themselves and their communities. Through the Songwriters Circle, we encouraging participants to express themselves creatively while forming bonds that can carry them through their journey of reintegration.

Thanks to generous funding from the Mass Cultural Council, Worcester Arts Council, and Kirby Foundation, we will continue offering our Songwriters Circle throughout the rest of the year. 

Sessions are held at the following locations:

• Wednesdays, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM, Open Sky Community Services, 288 Grove Street, Worcester, MA 01605
• Saturdays, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM, Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center, 25 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA 01609

To learn more about Community Compass and its services, visit their website here.

To learn more about Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center and its services, visit their website here.

If you are interested in learning more about our program offerings or joining our Songwriters Circle, please use the sign-up button below or email opportuneitymusic@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Image: Eight Lincoln St. School students gather for a group photo in the Prior Performing Arts Center building at the College of the Holy Cross.

On Saturday, May 3, eight OpporTUNEity students from the Lincoln St. School performed at Teaching Artist Rhiannon Hurst’s Fenwick Scholar Recital. Their performance was a culmination of a year-long Inclusive Jazz Fundamentals course developed by Rhiannon. Rhiannon guided the students through performing two songs: “Backwater Blues” inspired by Bessie Smith and “St. Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy. The students answered trivia questions about the history of jazz and led the audience through call-and-response scatting. 

Rhiannon’s Fenwick Scholarship Recital was entitled “Vanguard for a New Age: Artivism through Jazz.” In addition to OpporTUNEity students, the performance included Holy Cross students and faculty, and Boston-based music professionals. The diverse voices Rhiannon highlighted at her Fenwick Performance reflected the female, nonbinary, and queer jazz voices featured in her jazz album, which she developed and recorded through her Fenwick Scholarship research project.

The performance took place at The Prior Performing Arts Center on the Holy Cross campus. This was the first time each of our eight OpporTUNEity students visited a college campus and attended a live music performance. Upon arriving at Holy Cross, one student exclaimed, “This is the biggest college I’ve ever seen!” Many of them shared that they hoped to one day attend Holy Cross. During the performance, the students were respectful audience members and were enthralled with the music, never taking their eyes off the stage. The students received a heartfelt applause from the entire room when they entered the post-recital reception, which left some of the students teary-eyed. Performing alongside Rhiannon — a teacher they have developed a deep respect for and connection to — filled the students with pride and validation. 

OpporTUNEity Community Connections aims to develop connections between underserved youth and higher education institutions. Our partnerships with the Joy of Music Program, the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, Teaching, and Engaged Scholarship, the Scholarship in Action Program, and the College of the Holy Cross have helped this goal come to fruition. We are overjoyed with the learning and growth each of the 18 students enrolled in the program have shown over the past year. The eight students who performed with Rhiannon this May exhibited the impact music can have on students' lives: creating goals for a college education, sparking new passions and hobbies, and allowing students to connect with each other and their teachers.

Upcoming Events: Worcester Summer Music Institute

This July, we are once again partnering with the Worcester Summer Music Institute for the sixth annual Central Massachusetts Summer Music Institute for High School Students.

In partnership with OpporTUNEity, the Worcester Summer Music Institute is a unique musical experience for any high school musician. Rehearsals and Masterclasses are taught by our world-renowned faculty and guests.

Open to all high school band students (including rising 9th graders), this year’s institute will be held at South High School Community School in Worcester, MA from August 4-8, 2025.

Learn more or register here.

A Special Thank You to Our Supporters

Mass Cultural Council, Worcester Arts Council, and the Kirby Foundation

We are incredibly grateful to the Mass Cultural Council, the Worcester Arts Council, and the Kirby Foundation for awarding us three generous grants in support of our after school program with the Joy of Music Program, Worcester Public Schools, and The College of the Holy Cross, and our Songwriters Circle with Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center and Open Sky Community Services.



With this funding we can further support our instructors whose dedication to fostering artistic and musical expression plays a critical role in the success of these programs. Most importantly, it empowers us to continue providing essential services to populations navigating the challenges of systemic inequity and social injustice.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Mass Cultural Council, the Worcester Arts Council, and the Kirby Foundation. Their support helps us to foster a supportive and inclusive space for our youth and returning citizens.

OPPORTUNEITY AND THE OPPORTUNEITY LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF MELISSA S. MARTIROS @ 2025. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.