Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI) is a mentorship program that was launched last fall for talented student musicians from traditionally under-represented backgrounds.

For application guidelines and to sign up, visit that African American and Latinx musicians hold less than 3 percent of the positions in major American orchestras (League of American Orchestras), the mission of CMPI is to identify and develop gifted and motivated orchestral students from under-represented backgrounds for acceptance into top-tier conservatory, college or university classical music programs in preparation for careers as professional musicians.

Students from upper income communities and white communities have had the tools and access to resources needed to be successful in classical music,” Thompson said.

Upon their graduation we will be creating a critical mass of student musicians of color going to conservatories and professional music schools, which will be affecting the statistics of future makeup of American orchestras,” Thompson added.

All seven high school senior fellows in the program have earned spots in highly competitive professional music schools including Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia), DePaul University (Chicago), Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, 2 fellows admitted), Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University (Baltimore),  Rice University (Houston) and University of Texas (Austin); notably, the students’ musical and academic achievements earned them a total of some $3.8 million in financial aid scholarships.