Beyond The Soup Kitchen: Music Classes In Rockland

SUFFERN, NY — In addition to its soup kitchens and thrift shops, the Salvation Army has long been known for its bands. Less known, perhaps, is that it is one of the country's biggest providers of low-cost or free music lessons for children and adults.

So though the coronavirus pandemic was a challenging time, the Salvation Army, found ways to make sure people still got the musical enrichment they love.

Lt. Samuel Alvarez of the Suffern Corps first became interested in music when he was eight years old, playing on pots and pans like drums in his kitchen. This later developed into a serious interest in music, and he started learning how to play the trombone with The Salvation Army, then learned how to play the cornet in college. Later, he returned back to The Army to teach other young kids how to play instruments.

When the pandemic shut everything down, Alvarez tried to find a way to continue the music program. He started giving lessons through Zoom and moved from instrument to instrument to teach his students.

Fifteen months later, the music program is coming back, but slowly, he told Patch.

"We are back at giving lessons at the Suffern Temple but not too many of the students are back yet, because some people are waiting for the current situation to get back to normal," he said. "They are coming back little by little."