Yakima Herald-Republic Explore: YAMA’s music program builds youth skills, confidence and community
What happens when young people participate in collaborative music-making?
This question is one that Yakima Music en Acción (colloquially called “YAMA”) aims to answer, every day when we’re in session. At YAMA, we use string music education as a vehicle for our mission.
Our aim is to grow confident leaders throughout the neighborhoods we serve by widening access to professional-level music learning, igniting collective pride, and empowering and unifying students and families. We believe that at YAMA, every young musician can find a place to belong and grow.
Our string orchestras are designed to meet students where they are, offering a progression of ensembles that help each musician discover the right fit for their skills, goals, and passions. No matter the level, every ensemble provides opportunities to build musicianship, practice collaboration, and experience the joy of performing together.
Listening to music is known to elicit responses in the social network areas of the brain, which can make people feel more connected to each other. In an April 2026 article in The Journal of Neuroscience, a new study supports the idea that music and social interaction share common neural substrates, or the specific brain regions that support or produce a particular mental state—meaning that listening to music together with others, can enhance feelings of connectedness.
Brains happen to be at the most malleable stage during the critical window of adolescence. This chapter of brain development optimizes learning and social adaptation, but also increases vulnerability to environmental stressors. Social connection is vital for our health and well-being, especially in an era of increased isolation. The presence of community and support increases cognitive function and resilience.
YAMA draws inspiration from the music education model of El Sistema, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by José Antonio Abreu. The model takes a holistic approach to child development, believing that musical training and consistent time together can influence life skills like communication, confidence, and social change.
We at YAMA embrace these philosophies. We’ve found that identifying strengths in the young people we work with and trusting them with incremental and scaffolded leadership opportunities has the potential to develop them into confident leaders. The responsibilities we trust students with can be as minor as sharpening pencils at the beginning of the day that we’ll use on our music stands or holding doors for the bass section as they transition from the Garfield Elementary School gymnasium to a classroom. They can also be as major as high schoolers working as paid Assistant Teachers or program alumni returning as staff and playing leadership roles throughout the organization.
On May 16, 6:30 PM at the Eisenhower High School Auditorium, you can see our work in action at our annual Spring Showcase. All four of our student orchestras will perform to an audience of friends, families, and community members. Several of our students will play visible leadership roles, like our Assistant Teachers playing with the younger ensembles, or our bilingual concert emcees. Everyone on stage will collaborate with each other to create beautiful music together. We invite you to join us, to participate in our musical journey by listening to our hard work, and to perhaps be inspired by the accomplishments and confidence of the young people we have the privilege to work with.
