ANAHEIM, California – For over two years, Ebonie Vazquez has been looking for a color mentor for her son, Giovanni, now 11 and passionate about playing the violin. She has now found that space in a local church.

New Hope Presbyterian Church, a multi-ethnic congregation led by a black female pastor in Anaheim, Calif., started a string orchestra in April and welcomed students, including those who may have trouble getting into and paying for music programs. It is located in Orange County, which is largely rich.

Reef. Chineta Goodjoin said her church had a small string program for several years. When Goodjoin’s daughter Nyla began playing violin with the Inner City Youth Orchestra in Los Angeles, founded in June 2009 by noted conductor Charles Dickerson, the pastor became determined to replicate the concept in Orange County with Dickerson at the helm.

The church orchestra now has about 18 members, ages 9 to 20, who play the violin, viola, bass and cello. The orchestra accepts all students without auditions, and it’s free. Like the Los Angeles group, the orchestra is also run by mentors who look like the young musicians they help guide.

Ebonie Vazquez says it gives students the opportunity to “see themselves reflected in their mentors and teachers.”

“It’s important that they don’t feel like outsiders, but are supported and feel like they belong,” she said. “It’s definitely helped my son connect more with the music and the craft.”

During the rehearsal, when Giovanni started talking about music, the boy’s eyes became dreamy and his arms became animated. Even as his words gushed out in childlike excitement, they reflected the aura of an old soul.

“I just want to be able to express myself in my music and show that not only do I have talent, but I also take the time and practice,” he said. “You can change one little thing, one tone, and music will be completely different. You’re doing your own thing.

Giovanni said that in the church orchestra he could play classical music or he could chill with Imagine Dragons. He also plays violin in his school orchestra and with Dickerson’s Los Angeles group. He values ​​being part of the church orchestra because “it’s part of our community.”

“They encourage young musicians of color and everyone gets a chance to play and maybe use it as a stepping stone to get better or even make this a career,” he said.

Giovanni thinks it could be cool to play in Carnegie Hall. He pauses, then adds, “But honestly, I just want to play around people who listen to and appreciate music. My favorite part is really seeing people enjoy music.”

Melissa Bausley, a cellist who works in finance and volunteers as a mentor, said she often found herself alone as a black woman in this realm.

“I never had a teacher who was African-American growing up and I didn’t think it mattered or made a difference,” she said. “But now, as an adult, I would say there is absolute value in being able to learn from someone who looks like you.”

Dickerson said he started the Los Angeles Orchestra when he was approached by a group of students yearning to play in their city and neighborhood.

“They would have to drive long distances to be in these orchestras where they didn’t know the other kids and felt like the odd one out,” he said. “The young kids from our communities were always put in the back row and the back row was right next to the door.”

“It’s easy to walk out that door,” he added, “when you don’t really feel accepted and when you know you’re probably not as skilled as the others who have a little bit of connections and have been playing since they were three . “

Goodjoin said she and her husband, Reggie Goodjoin, a jazz musician and church music director, envision an orchestra where “African-American kids play classical music and play it well.”

“Not modified or watered-down abbreviations, but the real deal,” she said. “I like to say they play everything from Bach to Beyonce. We want them to be exposed to all genres.”

The children will play sacred and secular music as well as the works of black composers, and the orchestra is open to children of all faith backgrounds, Goodjoin said.

“They’re learning the music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington and so many other trailblazers — an experience they might not get in a regular school setting,” she said.

She believes that the church is a good place to start talking about justice in music.

“We value social justice and fairness and we believe we are called to help the marginalized, to free the captives,” Goodjoin said. “And music is freedom.”

The pastor is already receiving positive feedback from parents. A boy who plays upright bass was about to quit playing because no one in his school orchestra looked like him.

“His mother said that when he came here, the pressure to play and compete was taken away and it’s a joy to now see her son ignite a sense of dignity,” she said.

Carol Nealy, whose 9-year-old son Johnathan plays the violin, said the church has the ability to nourish the community — whether through food, spirituality or music.

“Because of this program, my children are exposed to the violin. It is no longer something untouchable or alien,” she said. “It will have an impact for generations because their children will see their parents pick up and play the violin.”

Elizabeth Moulthrop, executive director of El Sistema, an international network of music education programs founded in Venezuela, said she has seen similar programs end in churches.

“Music and art have always been such an important part of the church,” she said. “It’s a natural place to express faith.”

For those aspiring to advance in the field, such programs also offer access to life-changing summer music camps, college scholarships and connections to jobs, Moulthrop said.

Dickerson says the orchestras are an effort “to add value to what we need in our community.”

“The goal is to uplift young people and give them the opportunity for a better life,” he said.

“A lot of young people think it’s not cool to carry a violin down the street,” he added. “But when you play the violin well with other kids who are like you, social acceptance starts to emerge. You feel pride as opposed to shame because you’re not out there shooting hoops.”

The black church has always served as a place where the community could come together, Dickerson said.

“It’s the only place in history where we’ve been able to come together without interference from other cultures, so to speak,” he said. “The church started banks when blacks couldn’t put money in banks. They started newspapers when no one was prepared to police our communities. We even started baseball leagues when we were banned from playing.

“If we can gather in the church and create a symphonic orchestra, all I can say is praise God.”

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