Check it out! The Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center's Urban Music Program was recently featured on Access SF - San Francisco's public access television station. Not only was SNBC's Urban Music Program interviewed on NENtv, the Neighborhood Empowerment Network's weekly television show, but it also was the star of a column in The City Star, San Francisco's free daily newspaper (see page 4).

The complete article published in The City Star is also below:

Music Program Enrouraging Creativity in Sunset District's youth

They say that music is the universal language. The Urban Music Program at the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center has been speaking this language to middle and high school youth for ten years.

Members of the Urban Music Program describe their program as a combination of a club, family and musical utopia dedicated to teaching and spreading musical passion. This can take the form of DJ’ing, electronic composition, improvisation, all forms of recording, producing songs and performing unusual sonic experiments. Like any good family, they continually inspire, support and challenge each other to grow.

Jon Bernson founded the Urban Music Program in 1997 with 8 youth, a PMX 1600 Gemini mixer and two Technic 1200’s. Over the last 10 years, they’ve added new gear, new branches and collaborated with many musical souls: old and young, gifted and green, famous and almost famous. They’ve performed at San Francisco City Hall, Yerba Buena Center, the SF Zoo, Amoeba Music, Aquarius Records, Juvenile Hall and many great events.

The basic philosophical approach behind the program favors 'learning by doing'. Youth rediscover intrinsic motivations, striving to be creative rather than imitative. This positive role has bolstered the self-esteem of countless youth, helped them to develop meaningful goals, encouraged them to explore their own musical curiosity and to connect their knowledge to a personal foundation.

The Urban Music Program contributes to the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center's greater vision of providing project-based learning to youth and a broad network of services to families in the Sunset community.