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The Cathedral Arts Project (CAP) recently announced the acquisition of Connecting Thru Music (CTM), a nonprofit organization that offers in-school and afterschool music therapy programs for children and young adults with disabilities.
The acquisition was finalized on Sept. 12. Under this agreement, CTM’s music therapy services will be integrated into CAP’s CAPabilities program — broadening the availability of these offerings to increase access to arts education for students with disabilities in Northeast Florida.
“Connecting Thru Music’s mission and vision align with our mission to empower every child’s creative spirit, elevate arts educators in their field and advocate for access and equity in arts education,” said CAP President and CEO Rev. Kimberly Hyatt. “We are excited to bring it under our umbrella and expand our CAPabilities programming to include music therapy and reach more children with disabilities in our community.”
Duval County Public Schools has 18,565 students with disabilities enrolled in schools this year. This does not include students who only have speech impairment or are gifted. Connecting Thru Music currently serves 276 students at 13 Duval County Public School sites during the school year, and 415 students at 15 sites during the summer months.
The organization’s mission is to provide music therapy and related services to enhance the cognitive, communicative, emotional, physical and social development of children with disabilities throughout Duval County and the Northeast Florida region. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized nonmusical goals to support learning and development.
The CAPabilities program offers sensory art programs and art counseling. With this acquisition, CAP will be able to expand this program by offering music therapy provided by high-quality, board-certified music therapists.
Karen Demuth, co-founder and executive director of Connecting Thru Music, will join CAP’s staff as director of music therapy expansion. This new role will center on advocating for the benefits of music therapy. Demuth’s work will include expanding private pay opportunities and driving initiatives to reach children with disabilities, furthering CAP’s mission to empower every child’s creative spirit.
“The Cathedral Arts Project is a model organization providing access to arts education in our region,” said Demuth. “The demand for music therapy programs increases every school year. Moving under the CAP umbrella, we will be able to serve more students across Northeast Florida with its benefits.”
