Our Mission
Our mission is to support, enhance, and promote music education for the empowerment of girls and young women.
Core Beliefs
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Music is an effective tool for self-expression and self-empowerment.
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Music education stimulates creativity, builds self-confidence, and enables academic achievement, especially in girls and young women.
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Students need proper musical equipment, supplies, and instruction in order to realize their full talent and potential.
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Music curricula should be comprehensive, sequential, and calibrated to ability-specific or grade-specific benchmarks.
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Music education programs facilitate parental engagement and strengthen school communities.
Our Inception
The ongoing global pandemic has exacerbated inequities between:
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students in affluent neighborhoods compared to students in marginalized communities
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resource allocation for core academic subjects compared to the arts and athletics
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developmental and advancement opportunities available to boys compared to girls
Despite longstanding evidence that participation in music and the arts improves focus, motivation, and academic performance among students, funding for music and the arts in many schools has declined significantly over the past decade. Furthermore, restrictions on in-person learning because of the pandemic have led to further reductions in or the elimination of music programming from standard curricula offered in many schools.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. was founded to address three critical needs:
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Music Education
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Institutional Equity
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Gender Equality
We believe all students, especially girls and young women, deserve access to music education to develop their appreciation for the arts, enhance their academic performance, and empower their futures. Therefore our goals are to:
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help girls and young women realize their musical aspirations and potential
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remove economic barriers to participation
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facilitate personal growth and empowerment through music
By making music education more accessible to girls and young women, we hope to empower them into becoming more confident, productive, and successful leaders in their communities.
Our Approach
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We form long-term partnerships with schools, community organizations, and childhood development centers specifically focused on the unique needs of girls and young women to provide musical instruments, equipment, and curricula to support their ongoing programs.
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We work with our partners to source high-quality instruction by qualified music teachers, provide funds for ongoing training, and perform regular program assessments.
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We leverage our network in the music industry and academia to facilitate collaborations between teachers and professional musicians to develop customized music education programs for girls and young women.
Our Actions
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc.’s CEO, Audrey Choi, with Carrie Stickel, Senior Director of Philanthropy and External Affairs, Dr. Darryln Harrison, Principal, and some of their students at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. Announces Funding Grant to the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women in Baltimore, Maryland
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. is pleased to announce an unrestricted grant to the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women in Baltimore, Maryland. Audrey Choi, Chief Executive Officer of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. recently visited the school to personally award the grant to Dr. Darrlyn Harrison, Principal of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women. "Since its inception and founding, the mission of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. has been to help girls and young women fulfill their musical aspirations, promote academic achievement, and build self-confidence,” said Ms. Choi. “We are thrilled to provide the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women with a grant to help them empower girls to become tomorrow’s leaders.” Dr. Harrison said: “We very much appreciate the support from Empowering Girls Through Music, which shares our commitment to providing the best education, specifically for girls.” Ms. Stickel said: “Support from non-profit organizations such as Empowering Girls Through Music is crucial in helping us secure the resources we need to educate our students.” Through grants and partnerships such as this and with ongoing support from its donors and benefactors, Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. hopes to continue helping, enhancing, and creating opportunities for music education and personal empowerment for girls everywhere.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc.’s CEO, Audrey Choi, pictured with Shaunte Daniel, Principal, and Drake Wilson, Director of Strategy and Logistics, with Restine Jackson, Music Teacher, and some of his students at the Excel Academy for Girls in Washington, D.C.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. Announces Musical Instrument Donation and
Partnership with Excel Academy for Girls in Washington, D.C.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. is pleased to announce a musical instrument donation and partnership with Excel Academy for Girls in Washington, D.C. The musical instrument donation consisted of a broad range of musical instruments from bongo drum sets to glockenspiel xylophones, which will be used throughout the school for both educational and performance purposes. This musical instrument donation was the result of partnership discussions between Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. and Excel Academy for Girls about their music department’s current needs and how these two organizations could work together to support and enhance the opportunities for musical education there. Audrey Choi, Chief Executive Officer of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc., recently visited with Ms. Shaunte Daniel, Principal of Excel Academy for Girls, and Mr. Drake Wilson, Director of Strategy and Logistics at Excel Academy for Girls, in Washington, D.C. to oversee the delivery of the musical instruments and to discuss other areas of need and potential partnership moving forward. "Since its inception and founding, the mission of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. has been to help girls and young women fulfill their musical aspirations, promote academic achievement, and build self-confidence,” said Ms. Choi. “We are thrilled and honored to partner with Excel Academy for Girls to help enhance their music programs and offerings for their students, create new outlets for creativity and self-expression, and empower girls through music.” Ms. Daniel said, "It is the direct result of partnerships with organizations like Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. that our girls have opportunities like this. Partnerships help us invest in the development of our students in different realms, in this case, music. We are able to tap into a talent or skill that may not have been exposed in prior years. For that, I am grateful. We are grateful.” Through partnerships such as this and with ongoing support from its donors and benefactors, Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. hopes to continue helping, enhancing, and creating opportunities for music education and personal empowerment for girls everywhere.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc.’s CEO, Audrey Choi, pictured with Allison Persad, Principal, and some of her students at the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria in New York City.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. Announces Musical Instrument and Equipment Donation to the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria in New York City
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. is pleased to announce a musical instrument and equipment donation to the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria. The donation consisted of acoustic guitars, replacement strings and picks, and other equipment, which will be used throughout the school for both educational and performance purposes. Audrey Choi, Chief Executive Officer of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc., recently attended a music class and rehearsal at the school with Ms. Allison Persad, Principal of the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria and Mr. Paul Beaudry, Music Teacher at the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria. "Since its inception during the COVID pandemic about two years ago, Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. has been helping all-girls schools provide music education for their students,” said Ms. Choi. “We are so happy to provide the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria with guitars, music stands, and other supplies to help empower their girls through music.” Ms. Persad said, "We were very pleased to receive these musical instruments and equipment from Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. Our students started using the instruments and supplies as soon as they arrived, which was very useful to us.” Through working with schools such as the Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria in New York City that are dedicated to educating girls and developing the next generation of women leaders, and with ongoing support from its donors and benefactors, Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. hopes to continue helping, enhancing, and creating opportunities for music education and personal empowerment for girls everywhere.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc.’s CEO, Audrey Choi, with KaTiedra Argro, Principal, and Elisabeth D’Alessandro, Music Teacher, at the Philadelphia High School for Girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. Announces Musical Equipment Donation to the Philadelphia High School for Girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. is pleased to announce a musical instrument donation to the Philadelphia High School for Girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The musical instrument donation consisted of a broad range of musical instruments and supplies which will be used throughout the school for both educational and performance purposes. Chief Executive Officer of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc., Audrey Choi, recently visited Philadelphia to meet school administrators, teachers, and students as well as personally deliver the musical equipment to the school. "Since its inception and founding, the mission of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. has been to help girls and young women fulfill their musical aspirations, promote academic achievement, and build self-confidence,” said Ms. Choi. “We are very pleased to partner with the Philadelphia High School for Girls to help enhance their music programs and offerings for their students, create new outlets for creativity and self-expression, and empower girls through music.” Ms. Argro said: “We are so happy to work with Empowering Girls Through Music to provide our music students with the instruments and supplies they need to develop their talents.” Ms. D’Alessandro said: “These supplies will be very useful to us in providing our girls with the equipment they need to practice and perform their pieces.” Through partnerships such as this and with ongoing support from its donors and benefactors, Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. hopes to continue helping, enhancing, and creating opportunities for music education and personal empowerment for girls everywhere.
Our Leadership
Audrey Choi
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Audrey Choi is the Founder of Empowering Girls Through Music, Inc. and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Choi is currently an undergraduate student at Stanford University in California and is a graduate of the Spence School and Juilliard Pre-College in New York. Previously, she was a bassoonist in the Curtis Institute of Music Young Artists Summer Program and a program management intern at Concert Artists Guild, Inc.