The Frost School of Music’s Donna E. Shalala MusicReach program has transformed the lives of thousands of young people in Miami-Dade since its inception in 2008. The program recently wrapped up its annual summer camp, where scores of middle and high school students spent eight intensive weeks studying everything from classical violin and conducting to Latin rhythms and choral singing.
But in the past two years, MusicReach has been going through a transformation of its own, adding new contemporary music and technology classes that reflect the breadth and unique nature of programs at the Frost School.
“MusicReach has always had a lot of great opportunities for classical and jazz students,” said Joe Burleson, the program’s director. “But the Frost School is so much more than that, with the Creative American Music and Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship (M.A.D.E.) programs, and music technology and engineering among the most exciting programs we have.”
“It’s been inspiring for us to expand MusicReach to encompass everything the Frost School has to offer. That way every Frost School student has an opportunity to engage in outreach through MusicReach, and everyone in the community can find their niche and interest in the program.”
Starting with the 2023 summer camp, the students who learn from Frost School student mentor/teachers have been able to choose a Contemporary Music and Technology program at MusicReach that mirrors the Frost School’s innovative M.A.D.E. program. Students as young as 12 learn to play, compose, perform, engineer, and record popular music, working in the state-of-the-art L. Austin Weeks Recording Studio and other advanced Frost School facilities. In the 2024 summer camp, Frost School students in CHAI, a cutting-edge effort exploring music and artificial intelligence, taught MusicReach students about this advanced technological frontier.
During the 2024-25 school year, new funding from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust enabled MusicReach to add contemporary music to its weekly two-on-one lessons, with Frost School mentors teaching young students bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards, and drums. Those students formed a new MusicReach contemporary ensemble, which performed at last December’s Winter Wonderful, the program’s annual fundraising gala, earning a standing ovation for their passionate rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
Last spring, Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips, a largely self-taught music producer and songwriter who played for the University of Miami Hurricanes and briefly attended the Frost School, sponsored a MusicReach scholarship through his Jaelan Phillips Foundation. The scholarship enabled Frost School music engineering student Jack Reilly to teach weekly classes in beat making, audio production, and other skills to three MusicReach students. In April, Phillips visited Reilly and his students as they recorded songs by the MusicReach contemporary ensemble at Weeks. After that successful start, Burleson said they are working with Phillips’ foundation to continue the initiative.
This fall, MusicReach will bring its music technology expertise into the public school system, sending six Frost School music engineering students to teach bi-weekly sessions in digital composition, audio editing, and music production at magnet schools Thomas Jefferson K-8, Citrus Grove K-8 Center, and Bowman Ashe K-8. The new partnership was created at the request of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, with the classes designed by assistant engineering professor Susan Green.
At the heart of MusicReach’s contemporary offerings is Eli Yaroch, who has taught in the program since 2020 and has led MusicReach’s contemporary program since it was launched. Yaroch, who graduated with his master’s in music engineering technology in May, became passionate about teaching through the program.
“MusicReach changed my whole trajectory in life,” said Yaroch, whose experience with the program enabled him to achieve the difficult feat of being admitted to four music education doctoral programs despite not having a degree in the subject. This fall, he heads to the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University to pursue a doctorate in popular music education.
“These kids gave me the confidence to do something I thought was impossible,” he said.
Yaroch and his fellow Frost School student mentors earn scholarships, salaries, and living stipends by teaching at MusicReach. But Yaroch embodies one of the program’s primary goals: to inculcate an appreciation for community outreach and the importance of giving back.
He is enormously proud of students like Raul Ramirez, 16, a drummer and aspiring songwriter who has grown into a leader since joining the contemporary ensemble in 2023. Or Alexa Martinez, 13, who joined the program last summer, was barely able to play guitar and is now accomplished on the instrument. “She’s very reserved, but when she plays guitar, she comes out of her shell,” Yaroch said. “She worked really hard; you can tell she practices, and it means a lot to her to be the best she can be.”
“They want to be here and learn from me and the other teachers, which makes me feel really good, like a proud papa,” said Yaroch. “Every waking moment I’m not there, I’m thinking about how I can improve their lessons.”
