A concert set for Friday night is being described by organizers as "unlike anything Rochester has ever seen."
Over 40 students from World of Inquiry School 58 are joining local professional musicians for the inaugural CHORDS: Concert to Honor Our Rochester Diversity.
The Warner School of Education is partnering with School 58 for the event.
Associate professor April Luehmann studies consequential learning, or the concept that students learn in both the classroom and the community.
“When we meet kids where they are with the music that they love, and the talents that they admire, that's consequential learning,” Luehmann said. “Then they're motivated to get up in the morning, and take risks, do things they've never done before."
CHORDS celebrates diversity, which Luehmann said brings beauty to a community.
“So often, diversity has got to be something that's explicitly and intentionally celebrated and nurtured,” she said. “Because our status quo looks to the Eastman School for music because they're exceptional. But that is a small percent of the diversity in our city."
While celebrating culturally relevant music, the event also raises awareness about cancer.
The concert is the brainchild of student Anthony Lynch, whose mother is battling cancer.
A $2 dollar donations is suggested, and all proceeds will go to the Wilmot Cancer Center.
CHORDS runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in Rochester.