Founded by violinist/violist Joseph Kauffman and cellist Yoni Draiblate in 2013, Music Transforms is making a difference in the community by collaborating with world-renowned and local artists to create chamber music concerts of the highest quality and caliber to support the Cornerstone Christian Academy Orchestra.

Directed by Joseph and Elena “Nellie” Kauffman, the Cornerstone Christian Academy Orchestra provides musical instruments, weekly individual lessons, orchestra rehearsals, and performance opportunities for 40 select students at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Southwest Philadelphia. Your financial support will help us to continue the important music ministry that the Cornerstone Christian Academy Orchestra is providing to our talented students in Southwest Philadelphia. Please consider giving or getting involved. Your generosity today will shape the children and music of tomorrow.

Music played a crucial role in God’s creation. God chose to listen to music while he was masterfully laying the cornerstone for our world! At Music Transforms, we believe that God’s gift of music is necessary for our development as human beings as well. Music has been continually cut out of schools over the years, while test scores and child educational outcomes have plummeted to record lows. We believe that music is one of the missing or overlooked elements in our educational system.

Music instruction, and more specifically, playing an instrument, accelerates brain development in children because of music’s ability to use all parts of the central nervous system. When playing an instrument, neurons that control the peripheral, visual, auditory, emotional, and executive functions are activated simultaneously. Very few activities have this potential for brain development! Starting a child on an instrument early in their education provides a great opportunity for a child’s brain to develop the connections needed to grow into healthy and successful adults.