From the summer 2009 issue of Medaille’s Magazine

Fortune smiled on Buffalo. It blessed her with a prime geographic location, proximity to natural wonders, and moderate climate. In 1801 the Holland Land Company set up shop in this remarkable location, parceling out tracts of land along the shores of Lake Erie.

But Fate challenged Buffalo along the way with political, economic and cultural realities that continue to test the mettle of Buffalo’s residents to this day. Sitting in the heart of Buffalo, Medaille holds a unique opportunity to partner with the community to take on these challenges.

And that is precisely what Medaille is doing. Through a growing number of partnerships, Medaille is working with the community to change Buffalo for the better. The following pages give a brief glimpse of the people who are making good things happen in Buffalo —whose efforts give real expression to Buffalo as “the City of Good Neighbors.”

In a bright, inviting corner space in the historic Market Arcade Complex off Main Street in downtown Buffalo, a small, glossy violin sits in a window, offering a vivid introduction to visitors at the Muhammad School of Music.

With a teacher’s heart, a musician’s ear, and an eye for innovation, Henri L. Muhammad ’04 MSED created a school in 1999 that would inspire an interest in classical music and string instruments among black and minority children in Buffalo. Ten years later, he has established a showcase for musical talent and an outlet for “Twinkle Stars” and “Mini Maestros” to challenge themselves through music and performance. Along with a team of three other teachers,

Muhammad delivers after school music programs to elementary students at the King Center on Genesee Street, Pinnacle Charter School, and during the day at the West Hertel Academy and the Bilingual Center in South Buffalo. In May 2009, MSOM students performed at Kleinhans Music Hall in a celebration of the school’s tenth anniversary. The event featured the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Buffalo City Ballet Company, and music from Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and William Grant Still.

“There are talented young people in the city of Buffalo,” says Muhammad. “At the concert at Kleinhans . . . the little ones were so focused. They really feel the music. Beethoven’s music is over 200 years
old, and they still feel it.”