The Rachel Barton Pine (RBP) Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was founded in 2001 to expand awareness of and appreciation for classical music.  It provides services and funding for classical music education, research, performances, and artists, to benefit listeners and learners alike.  Current projects include an instrument loan program, grants for education and career, and creation of a supplemental curriculum of music for strings by composers of African descent.

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The RBP Foundation is undertaking to research, commission, and compile music and collect related information for The String Student’s Library of Music  by Black Composers. This supplemental curriculum will acquaint students of all races and various stages of development with the rich heritage of classical string music by composers of African descent.  This music can be especially valuable in motivating minority youngsters to begin their musical education or to progress.  The volumes also will include biographies of the composers, profiles of important Black string players , and articles about the historic contributions that musicians of this ethnic background have made to classical music and string playing.

The RBP Foundation’s Instrument Loan Program allows young artists to benefit from the use of high-quality instruments that otherwise would not be available to them.  The goal of this program is to unite talented students and young professional artists with instruments of a quality that encourages their growth as musicians and enables them to communicate more effectively through their music.  Instruments currently on loan range from fine student level violins and violas to antique bows and the rarest of vintage concert instruments.

In addition to costs covered by traditional scholarships, a young musician’s expenses as a student and as an aspiring professional can be sizable.  The RBP Foundation’s Grants for Education and Career helps with expenses such as accompanists’ fees, sheet music purchase, travel expenses to competitions, and audition recording sessions.  Grants are given to young artists between the ages of 10 and 30 on the basis of great musical talent and accomplishment, artistic aspirations, serious financial need, and merit of the grant request.

Classical musicians in developing countries often cannot obtain such basic supplies as rosin, strings, reeds, and sheet music.  Furthermore, they do not have access to instrument repair shops, resulting in their instruments becoming unplayable due to lack of basic maintenance.  Global HeartStrings is dedicated to supporting these aspiring classical musicians.  Currently, we are gathering materials to send to countries such as Haiti, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.  Future plans include sponsoring residencies for music teachers and instrument makers from America, and providing scholarships for musicians to study performance, pedagogy, and instrument repair in the U.S.