Dana Zimbric has been benefitting children throughout San Diego County with music education since 2003. This classically-trained conductor is on a mission to make classical music relevant, engaging and accessible for today’s audiences. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music and a Master’s of Music in Orchestral Conducting. In a competitive field that severely lacks leadership positions for women, she is paving the way for female conductors. She has led the San Diego State University Symphony Orchestra and Honors Orchestras with the San Diego Unified School District as a guest conductor and has also served the San Diego Youth Symphony. She holds [...]

Mimi Lee is one of San Diego’s most remarkable community champions. She is a former teacher who specialized in students with special needs. After teaching, her second career was to advocate for special needs students at Grossmont Community College as the Chair of Disabled Student Services. During her 22-year tenure, she served on the Academic Senate and the Grossmont Hospital Rehabilitation Advisory Board,  achieved the rank of Professor, and was named a Grossmont College Distinguished Chair. She was also honored by the El Cajon Soroptomists International as a Woman of Action. In her 16 years of retirement, she has become involved [...]

Mario Eguia is one of Classics 4 Kids’ premier music educators, specializing in Mariachi. Mario plays the guitar, ukulele, trumpet, and many others. He also teaches these instruments in private and group lessons. Although he has no favorite instrument to play, he has a soft spot for the power of voice, and dearly misses in-person, live performances. He cherishes any opportunity he has to share his art with others, which is why Mario and the City Heights Music School musicians will present their “Holiday Zoom Concert” tonight beginning at 7:00pm.  During their live event, the City Heights Music School and Mariachi [...]

Public health restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic have resulted in many performing arts organizations innovating solutions to continue fulfilling their missions. While many groups, including Classics 4 Kids, are providing virtual performances and educational opportunities via Zoom, The Old Globe Theatre took a different approach. They are hosting their production of "Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! On the Radio" on December 20th at noon, and on December 24th at 6:00pm. The Old Globe opted out of streaming the production on video, and have decided to host the performance over radio, as was common in the pre-television era. As the [...]

Earlier today, Classics4Kids held our Meet & Greet Special Event hosted by Artistic Director and Conductor, Dana Zimbric. The Meet & Greet Special Event was a live virtual program designed for students at home to learn more about music from a C4K educator.  Throughout the event, Dana showcased her piano, named “Hershey,” and played a variety of classical songs from composers like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. During her performances, Dana received lots of audience participation. Once the students were taught to conduct in a 4/4 pattern and a 3/4 pattern, they helped Ms. Zimbric to perfectly play her songs. And, for her [...]

Music can share so much – from emotional response, to history, to amazing stories. Music can capture our shared humanity in so many wonderful and inspiring ways. I can’t imagine doing anything else.VISIT SD VOYAGER to read their most recent "Shout Out" and learn more about what inspired our Artistic Director and Conductor, Dana Zimbric, to pursue a creative path.

Our Virtual Soiree & Fundraiser was a HUGE success! GRAND TOTAL: $56,700 Special thanks to: our performers - Stars Aligned Siblings, our Wine Expert - Mike Zimbric, and all of our sponsors. All proceeds benefit our virtual music education programs to support distance learning across San Diego. In case you missed it, our program is now available on YouTube.

Upcoming Fundraiser Supports FREE Outreach Programs   Classics 4 Kids presents a virtual fundraiser to support their new online arts education programming for the 20-21 school year. Learn.Create.Connect was designed to support teachers by bringing live music directly into the virtual classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.   “The pandemic has required significant changes to San Diego County’s public education systems, creating even more barriers to exposing students in low-income elementary schools to the benefits of music education. We are adapting our programming to continue promoting an arts-rich environment to the schoolchildren that need it the most”, said Kiran Shelat, Executive Director [...]

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts in bringing music education to San Diego students. Classics 4 Kids provides vital music education to almost 20,000 students, teachers and families across San Diego County – through Orchestra performances, in-school workshops, online distance learning, community presentations, and through our “Heartstrings” program at Rady Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. Here are some Real Results: 17,000 Inspired Students 12,176 Title 1 Students 122 Schools Served 83 Bus Transportation Scholarships Our partners Advocates For Classical Music provided over 200 classroom docent visits and 25 bus transportation scholarships through the Jim Lee Fund [...]

In partnership with San Diego County Office of Education, Classics 4 Kids & Opera4kids performance of Sing Me A Story: The Enchanted Tail will be Broadcast on ITV Cable 16 Friday, June 5th @ 12:00pm Wednesday June 10th @ 12:00pm Friday June 19th @ 12:00pm. Join Classics 4 Kids musicians and vocalists Victoria Robertson and Bernardo Bermudez in the broadcast premiere of “Sing Me a Story: The Enchanted Tail.” Originally performed in May 2019 at the Balboa Theatre, this special performance was a collaboration between C4K and Opera4kids. With musical highlights from famous operas, together we explore the wonderful world of [...]