Cleveland Classical Guitar Society believes that all youth have the right to high quality arts instruction. The Education Program is designed to fight inequities and reduce barriers to instruction for kids in the City of Cleveland. CCGS provides exceptional teachers, curricula, guitars, and more at no cost to the students; while the students bring creativity, ambition, imagination, dedication and passion.
The results have been profound. A story produced by Cleveland Metropolitan School District on CCGS’s program won a 2021 regional Emmy. CCGS students were commissioned to write the theme music for the podcast series The Asterisk*, presented by the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the only American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. And alumnus Damian Goggans, who began playing guitar with CCGS in eighth grade, has been accepted into nationally renowned programs, appeared on national news, and received a full scholarship to a major music conservatory. CCGS is one of only eight organizations in the Cleveland Foundation’s Arts Mastery Initiative.
This program is funded by people who want to create positive change.
Increasing access to instrumental music
affords all students the opportunity to express themselves, think creatively,
and realize their potential in music, school, and beyond.
Interested in learning more about CCGS Education? See media interviews on our Watch & Listen page.
Arts Mastery: CCGS Education
In this short video (below) students, principals, and teachers talk about the impact of Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s Education Program, which is part of the Cleveland Foundations’s Arts Mastery initiative.
Looking Back at CCGS Education
Established in 2012, CCGS Education Program provides classes and lessons at multiple site locations throughout Cleveland. This video (above) takes a look at some of the performance and media highlights from past years.
In 2021-2022,
CCGS Education returned in person, serving 300 students at 14 sites across Cleveland.
along with virtual lessons.
Virtual Private Lessons:
Guitar@Home Academy
The Guitar@Home Academy launched in 2020 to provide private lesson online during the pandemic. Those lessons have continued even as class have returned in person, to break down barriers of geography and transportation for students in the City of Cleveland. Find out more on the Guitar@Home Academy webpage.
Since 2020, students have participated in 12 video projects!
CCGS students participated in a wide variety of group video projects, designed to include students of all levels. Some projects featured professional guest artists, including the video for Brown Skin Girl (above), which included guitarists from Mexico, Brazil, and Nigeria. Click here to see more student projects.
Student Events with
International Series Artists
Each year, International Series artists work with CCGS students. These events provide an opportunity to meet and learn from world-renowned artists, and serve as an outlet for students to share performances of pieces they learn in their lessons. A collaboration with Berta Rojas (above) combined the talents of CCGS students with teens in Paraguay.
Introducing…CCGS Guitar Club
In February 2021, the CCGS Guitar Club was formed to give students in the Guitar@Home Academy a chance to connect with each other through group projects in weekly club meetings (hosted on Zoom). In summer 2021, Guitar Club students worked together on a composition commission to create theme music for The Asterisk* podcast.