The Rachel Elizabeth Barton (REB) Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was founded in 2001 to expand awareness of and appreciation for classical music. It provides services and funding for classical music education, research, performances, and artists, to benefit listeners and learners alike. Current projects include an instrument loan program, grants for education and career, and creation of a supplemental curriculum of music for strings by composers of African descent.
The REB Foundation is undertaking to research, commission, and compile music and collect related information for The String Student's Library of Music by Black Composers. This supplemental curriculum will acquaint students of all races and various stages of development with the rich heritage of classical string music by composers of African descent. This music can be especially valuable in motivating minority youngsters to begin their musical education or to progress. The volumes also will include biographies of the composers, profiles of important Black string players , and articles about the historic contributions that musicians of this ethnic background have made to classical music and string playing.
The REB Foundation's Instrument Loan Program allows young artists to benefit from the use of high-quality instruments that otherwise would not be available to them. The goal of this program is to unite talented students and young professional artists with instruments of a quality that encourages their growth as musicians and enables them to communicate more effectively through their music. Instruments currently on loan range from fine student level violins and violas to antique bows and the rarest of vintage concert instruments.
In addition to costs covered by traditional scholarships, a young musician
