A grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the Riverside County Nonprofit Assistance Fund will allow Riverside Arts Academy (RAA) to expand its faculty. Executive and artistic director Adam Karelin said those resources come at a pivotal time as the academy continues to grow. 

“We’re able to now grow the size of our impact,” Karelin said. “We think of impact not just in terms of the raw number of students who are served, but how many hours a week are those students spending in our program. We have an average that’s higher than three hours a week per student receiving music instruction. So, we’re really looking at things like the quality of instructors.”

Since receiving the grant, the intrepid nonprofit was able to conduct broader searches for high-quality faculty members. To that end, it eventually hired a new director for its popular mariachi program, Alex Treviño II. 

“Alex comes to us with a background in professional mariachi and in music education where he has played with some of the best mariachi ensembles in the world,” Karelin said, noting that RAA was able to recruit the performer from Mariachi los Camperos, the Grammy Award-winning mariachi ensemble of which he was a valued member.

“He was able to fly out to the Latin Grammys to play there, then fly back to teach his class on Saturdays here at the Riverside Arts Academy,” Karelin added. “When we’re able to receive this kind of support from an organization like IECF, we’re able to invest in quality again, not just in the number of students served, but the quality of service that we’re able to provide.”

Those services are revered, in fact. Riverside Arts Academy has grown considerably over the years. At its core, it is a significant mentoring program in the region, providing inspirational and creative arts education to children and youth of Riverside as a tool for community transformation. 

Founding President Collette Lee remains a stronghold here, offering many hours of weekly instruction in arts classes that run the gamut from band and strings to mariachi. Orchestra and percussion. More than 2,000 students are served annually, with several standout groups emerging into the spotlight. 

Those include the following ensembles: the Riverside Youth Orchestra, the Riverside Honor Band, the Riverside Children’s Choir, and the Mariachi Juvenil de Riverside, all of which perform at regional events and shows. 

And while many locals may be aware of the organization’s flagship program in the Cesar Chavez Community Center, Karelin points out that the organization’s world is much broader than the well-known outpost.

“The majority of the 500 students in our program… we see them at their school sites in after-school programs that are partnerships with Riverside Unified, Alvord Unified, and the Jurupa Unified School District,” Karelin said. “We’ve served 15 public schools this year that way, again, at specific school sites. We love our Saturday program. Of course, that’s where everybody kind of comes together from all of our different sites, students from all across the region are able to convene. But again, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

This year, RAA will provide classes seven days a week to students ages 7 to 18.” We’ve got orchestra, choir, band, mariachi, and our new guitar program,” Karelin added.

On the horizon: A gala. The 2025 “Rising Stars” gala takes place on February 1. Visit the website for tickets and more information.

Learn more at riversideartsacademy.com.

This article originally appeared in the Press-Enterprise, January 2025.

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