Our Mission

To change lives and connect the community through high quality, accessible music and arts education and programming. 
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Our Partners

Our partners are musicians, teaching artists, educators, and performing arts organizations. Together we strive to cultivate a l​ove and appreciation of the arts that will benefit the entire community.   ​

MusicLIVE Students performing on stage with the Sacramento Philharmonic as part of the Carnegie Hall Link Up program.

Our Story

In the early 2000s, violinist Ingrid Peters began teaching a beginning violin program at Didion Elementary school as part of the Sacramento Philharmonic’s String Fever program. The program was able to serve hundreds of elementary school students, providing violin lessons to children who might not otherwise have had access to any musical instruction at all.  

​In 2013, the Sacramento Institute for Music & the Arts (S.I.M.A.) was established as a 501(c)(3) organization, with the goal of maintaining and expanding the string programs, and connecting the larger community to the arts through high quality educational and performance programming.  S.I.M.A. now offers 15 string classes in 5 area schools, and provides personalized string instruction, taught by professional teaching artists, to more than 100 students each year. Through continuing community partnerships with organizations like the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, we are able to expose our students and their families to professional level classical music through workshops, guest artists, and live performances.  

Research has shown the numerous effects of music education.  Learning to play a musical instrument improves brain function, increases concentration, enhances reading and comprehension skills, improves mathematical ability, enhances teamwork -  just to name a few.  For children, this is profound.  This has the ability to change their life. By learning to play a musical instrument, they acquire the tools that will enable them to be successful in whatever they choose to do for the rest of their lives. 

Our vision is to continue to grow and support our instructional programs throughout the greater Sacramento region, support existing local arts organizations by helping them connect to our students and families, and to provide family-friendly, accessible classical music and arts programming for a wide range of people throughout our community.  

There has never been a more important time to provide children with these meaningful musical opportunities. ​ Please support the Sacramento Institute for Music & the Arts, and help us spread the gift of musicality and appreciation of the arts as far as we can reach.