Urban Choral Arts Society Inc.
Our Music. Our Heritage. Building a Bridge.
The Urban Choral Arts Society Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the achievement and esteem of Baltimore youth through choral & cultural arts. Founded 2015 by Ronald McFadden in partnership with the Eubie Blake Cultural Center, UCAS allows students to participate in mentoring, regular rehearsals, and performances with adult professional musicians. With a special emphasis on music within the African diaspora, UCAS also seeks to preserve and highlight the artistic contributions of African Americans to the world of music.
Broadening students’ exposure through both traditional and contemporary choral arts practices, UCAS strives to be a leading educational presence and advocate for the arts serving urban youth in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan areas. Through quality programs of performing arts study and rigorous practice, UCAS addresses the artistic diversity of the population it serves and provides opportunities for youth at varying levels of prior training and experience.
UCAS hosts a weekly 2 ½ hour Saturday music program for students in 6 through 12 grade, with weekly one-on-one private voice instruction, and 5 major performances per season. UCAS provides students with an arts education which enables some to engage in quality arts instruction that is not adequately provided in area schools, and enhances the skills of students that desire more.
Our goal is to develop a strong college & career pipeline through the arts, and to strengthen and sustain artistic networks and patronage. Our educational vision for students is that they become performance & exhibition proficient, working both individually and collaboratively, in order to successfully produce high quality musical experiences.
As students commit and progress through our program, we grant scholarship awards to those graduating seniors to pursue music at the college/university level.