Media

‍The Heartbeat Music Project: Creating a Community of Music and Diné Culture

The Strad
May 22, 2023

Founder and artistic director of the Heartbeat Music Project Ariel Horowitz speaks about the tuition-free programme offering music and Navajo (Diné) cultural education
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’The Heartbeat Music Project will never erase the injustices carried out against Indigenous peoples. Yet, it seems to me that each small step is a moment of reparation’ - Sharon Nelson, executive director, Heartbeat Music Project and assistant professor of Diné Culture, Navajo Technical University.

It’s a breezy spring day in late May of 2022 as I open the door to the Hogan at Navajo Technical University (NTU). The NTU Hogan brims with the cacophony of children picking out tunes on violins, electric pianos, flutes, oboes, and guitars — far too excited to wait for the daily activities to formally begin. A smartboard has taken up residence since I was last here, and dry erase boards are filled with Diné language, culture, and ideas from classes past.

Remembering Bob Crowell with a Gift of Music Education

March 24, 2023

Bob Crowell committed his retirement years to creating literacy, injury prevention and educational programs for young people living on the Navajo Nation and he was always happy when he could be there selflessly serving others.
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Three years ago on March 24, 2020, the world lost a renowned neurosurgeon, great dad and grandfather, kind and gentle man, accomplished pianist, music aficionado, humanitarian and co-founder of Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives—Robert M. Crowell, MD (this link clicks to his obituary).We miss him so much, but his vision and mission for Eve’s Fund and the legacy of our beloved daughter, Eve Erin Crowell, are continuing every day through our programs for young people living on and near the Navajo Nation in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Catch up on our most recent important initiatives here.Today we are honoring Bob with an inaugural memorial gift to current and future Dine (Navajo) music students who are studying piano, violin or other instruments, supported by a Navajo Nation based non-profit organization —The Heartbeat Music Project. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of our“Friends of Eve’s Fund,” we plan to continue our support of this program, in Bob’s memory, on an annual basis.
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The Heartbeat Music Project is a Recipient of The Lewis Prize for Music 2022 Accelerator Award of $500,000

The Lewis Prize for Music
January 2022

Accelerator Awards provide multi-year support to enable leaders and organizations to make sustained progress toward ambitious community change initiatives that align with The Lewis Prize for Music’s values and vision.

The Lewis Prize for Music’s 2022 Awardees are influencing youth-serving systems so young people have access to learning, creating, and performing experiences that reflect their culture and identity.

In year 3 of our awards, over $2 million will go to 8 Creative Youth Development (CYD) organizations across the country to give young people access to music education, strengthen the well-being of their communities and put music at the center of efforts to establish equity. By supporting music leaders across the country to continue their great work, we hope to inspire other partners to work together to ensure every young person has the opportunity to access transformative music learning, performance and creation.

The Heartbeat Music Project Receives a Generous Donation of Instruments

July 15, 2021

Heartbeat Music Project is pleased to announce that we've received an individual donation of an orchestra's worth of instruments and funds to construct a prefabricated music building on the Nation.

Colburn School’s Center for Innovation and Community Impact Awards Social Innovation Grants to Support BIPOC Community

Colburn School
April 29, 2021

Conservatory violinist Gregory Lewis has received The Colburn School’s 2021 Social Innovation Grant in the amount of $2,500 for The Heartbeat Music Project, fiscally sponsored by Roadwork Center for Cultures in Disputed Territory. The Social Innovation Grants are a part of Colburn School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, which are generously funded by foundations and individuals from around the country. This gift will be used to purchase a combination of instruments and high-speed internet hubs so students can participate in remote instruction.

The Heartbeat Music Project Receives the Mockingbird Foundation COVID-19 Relief Grant

The Mockingbird Foundation
June 2020

The Heartbeat Music Project, fiscally sponsored by Roadwork Center for Cultures in Disputed Territory, is proudly among the recipients of the Mockingbird Foundation COVID-19 Relief Grant in the amount of $5,000. This gift will ensure our continued efforts in directly aiding the Navajo (Diné) community with emergency pandemic-related needs, as well as our continued organizational sustainability and development, including but not limited to increasing our instrument inventory and creating more jobs within the Crownpoint, NM community.

The Heartbeat Music Project Receives the Lewis Prize COVID-19 Community Relief Fund Grant

The Lewis Prize for Music
June 2020

The Heartbeat Music Project, fiscally sponsored by Roadwork Center for Cultures in Disputed Territory, is proudly among the recipients of the Lewis Prize COVID-19 Community Relief Fund Grant in the amount of $25,000. This gifts will ensure our continued efforts in directly aiding the Navajo (Diné) community with emergency pandemic-related needs, as well as our continued organizational sustainability and development, including but not limited to increasing our instrument inventory and creating more jobs within the Crownpoint, NM community.

Ariel Horowitz receives Philip F. Nelson Prize through Yale University

Yale School of Music
May 18, 2020

Violinist Ariel Horowitz '20 MMA has received the Philip F. Francis Nelson Prize, which is awarded to a student whose musicianship is outstanding and who demonstrates curiosity, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit in the many dimensions of the music profession.

How the Pandemic is Affecting the Navajo Nation

Smithsonian Magazine
April 24, 2020

Sharon Nelson, MA, executive director of the Heartbeat Music Project as well as he department chair of Diné studies at Navajo Technical University; and board member of the Navajo Language Academy is featured in conversation with Amy Horowitz, PhD, co-director of GALACTIC at Indiana University and longtime associate of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. This story was original originally produced for the Center for Folklife Blog — appearing April 20, 2020 but was promptly picked up by Smithsonian Magazine a few days later.

Ariel Horowitz receives Yale-Jefferson Award for Public Service

Yale School of Music
November 21, 2019

Violinist Ariel Horowitz '20MMA has received the Yale-Jefferson Award for Public Service in recognition of her leadership of the Heartbeat Music Project, which "offers music education for Navajo (Diné) K-12 students living on the Navajo Reservation," according to the organization's recently launched website. "We cultivate a safe space for our students to thrive and gain confidence in themselves, their abilities, and their local and global potential."...

Healing with Heartbeat: Music Education in the Navajo Nation

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage
November 26, 2018

It is right before the final student concert at Navajo Technical University, and Keeva taps me on my arm. She is eight years old.

“Miss Ariel!” she whispers. She points to the violin case in her hand, and I know she wants to squeeze in just one more round of practice before she performs. I glance around.

As the director of The Heartbeat Project, I’m responsible for seven teaching artists and fifty-five campers, aged five to twenty-two, here in Crownpoint, New Mexico. Everyone in the hogan (traditional Navajo home) is busy setting up instruments, greeting parents and grandparents and sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles who have come to celebrate the accomplishments of the students on this warm summer afternoon. It is a happy pandemonium...

At the Heart of The Heartbeat Project: A Q&A with Staff Supporters from Navajo Technical University

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage
November 26, 2018

Based at Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico, The Heartbeat Project brings Western classical music instruction to youth on the Navajo (Diné) Reservation. What began in 2015 with a phone call to Juilliard student Ariel Horowitz is now a burgeoning cooperative program facilitated by present and former music conservatory students, supported by professors, parents, and guest musicians. In 2018, Heartbeat marked its third annual summer workshop...

Four Gifted Young Musicians Aim To Effect Change Through Community-Focused Projects

The Record: Music News from NPR
May 31, 2017

Every week, a small group of young people step up to a microphone and play, their music broadcast to hundreds of thousands of listeners across America on NPR's From the Top with Host Christopher O'Riley. For those of us who may have dabbled in orchestra or band as kids, the level of mastery achieved by these young musicians can seem superhuman. And, when the show is over, most heave a sigh of relief, not realizing that From the Top has more in store for them — they are about to be asked what can only be described as a "very big question." It is: Who do you aspire to be as an artist and a leader? How can you take action now to make a difference beyond the concert hall?...

Violinist Ariel Horowitz receives 2018 Alumni Leadership Grant

From The Top (NPR
)Apr 23, 2018

21-year-old violinist Ariel Horowitz founded the Heartbeat Project, which helps fulfill a need for music education in the Navajo (Diné) Nation. Horowitz, who received Alumni Leadership Grant funding in 2017, appeared on NPR’s From the Top in 2012, at the age of 16. Ariel graduated from the Juilliard School in May, and is a current student of Ani Kavafian at the Yale School of Music as a recipient of the Julia Havemeyer Scholarship and Fellowship...

Learning and Growing With Navajo Students

Farmington Daily Times
The Juilliard Journal
November 2016

We had no idea how much the workshop we facilitated would mean to us in every regard: artistically, pedagogically, and as human beings. We were challenged, our horizons broadened, and our perspectives shifted. We came away filled with gratitude and excitement to pursue an even greater iteration next summer...

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