About Hope Twinkles

How many Suzuki string players does it take to change the world ? With Hope Twinkles, we’ve set out to find the answer! Based on the old idea of a read-a-thon, Hope Twinkles is a play-a-thon, raising support for a cause with hours and hours of playing! Since Suzuki string players have a common repertoire, we can play together without rehearsing together, bringing students from all over the region into a common experience, for the benefit of charity.

ALL SUZUKI STRINGS PLAYERS ARE WELCOME TO COME PLAY AT HOPE TWINKLES!

Hope Twinkles also gives students a fresh perspective on their place in the musical community. So many times, especially if a student isn’t in a youth orchestra, they feel alone in their instrumental experience. Hope Twinkles brings together students from many studios, and it becomes a big playing party, where everyone is welcome and everyone contributes. Rather than comparative, competitive spirits, Hope Twinkles fosters cooperative community.

Hope Twinkles began in 2017 as a way for music students to turn their music into donations for a cause. That year, Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, and there was a huge cry for clean water. Students asked if there was anything they could do to help, and by the time Hope Twinkles was over, 82 musicians gave of their time, raising over $4,000! Our venue was the Walnut Street walking bridge, and generous passers-by were very encouraging.

2018 brought many wildfires to California, and inspired our students to help rebuild Redwood Academy’s music program, completely decimated by the fires. We were, with the generosity of more than 90 musicians and many donors, able to purchase a new set of handbells to replace those destroyed in the wildfire. This is the year the Collegedale Commons first opened its doors to Hope Twinkles, and became our home for the next several years.

Hope Twinkles 2019 was a huge leap forward, supporting Grand Bahama Academy after Hurricane Dorian. 132 musicians of all ages representing 26 teachers and their studios contributed 130 playing hours! In partnership with the Samaritan Center, we were honored to send a significant sum to pay teachers’ salaries and repair costs for the school. This was also the first year that the East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra joined us in partnership, supporting us through their fall concert the same evening

Of course, COVID threw a wrench in everyone’s plans, but tornadoes are no respecter of viruses. Easter Sunday an EF-3 twister smashed through communities in Chattanooga and Ooltewah, right in our front yard. Even though we couldn’t meet in person, everyone’s first thought was “Hope Twinkles can help!” So we organized Virtual Hope Twinkles, and 71 students submitted a grand total of 278 videos to air as we raised money for our own community.

By the fall of 2020, we were desperate to meet in person. Social distancing was merely an obstacle to be met, so with hula hoops providing our safe-zones, “Hoope Twinkles” stepped up to the challenge of providing food-bank donations for the Samaritan Center in a time when few food-drives could be held. 83 players in 126 playing-hours put a great deal of food back on the Food Pantry’s shelves, meeting the needs of a community hungry for contact and nourishment.

In 2021 we again looked local for a project to support, and found the Zan Young School of Music and Hope. A non-profit with a mission to bring music lessons to the under-served, ZYS needed instruments to put in children’s hands. With Hope Twinkles’ assistance ZYS was able to purchase 8 little cellos and a few violins and violas as well!

2022 was a sobering year for all of us. One of our own musical family, a former student, chose to end his life. There was only one possible way for us as Hope Twinkles to move toward healing, and that was to make music. In his honor, Hope Twinkles musicians played for a record 208 playing hours, raising funds for counseling, prevention and awareness. Our students really stepped up to show their love and support for those grieving, and for those in need of hope. Music for Healing Hearts was a moving experience for all of us, of triumph over sadness.

Spring of 2024, Hope Twinkles played to raise funds for the Grace E. Nicola Scholarship Fund. This fund is designed to help string students when their families have a crisis. It supplies scholarship money for lessons or instruments so young players can keep learning until their family support base has recovered.