By Michael Burgess, Administrative Associate at Seraphic Fire

As with most great things, Seraphic Fire’s Miami Choral Academy started as an idea. An ambitious idea, to be exact.  The concept was to provide a free after-school musical education to underprivileged children. It would require free rides home and, of course, snacks. Although it sounds simple enough, it doesn’t take much time to realize the headaches that come along with creating such a program. Whereas most people would run from this responsibility, one person, Shawn Crouch, was positively delighted by the challenge. In fact, he didn’t just take on the project, he expanded upon it. A Pulitzer Prize nominated composer hailing from New York City, Mr. Crouch had experience in the classroom, but nothing in his past prepared him for this challenge. He would go on to build the Miami Choral Academy from the ground-up.

MCA opened its doors in the fall of 2010. It was a trial by fire for everyone involved, and the madness that accompanied the first few weeks of operation was inescapable.  As Mr. Crouch quickly learned, things like this do not come with an instruction manual.

Now, just four months later, the Miami Choral Academy is up and running. New staff has been hired, heads have been turned, and there are even plans to sing the national anthem during the Florida Marlins opening weekend next April. This success stems from MCA’s systematic approach towards musical education. The innovative techniques employed by its talented staff are reflected in the ear-to-ear smiles that don the faces of its participants.

The best part of all? While the students are excitedly studying their music and singing tunes, they are actually building their cognitive abilities. “What we know based on research is that those who excel in music do better in math, reading and writing programs,’’ Crouch says. “That’s not even to talk about how music makes you work as a team and understand other cultures.’’

This program is on the rise and will serve as a model to others. We Miamians should be very proud to have the Miami Choral Academy in our own backyard.

Update! On January 21, CBS Miami did a feature story about the Miami Choral Academy. Enjoy the video below