The Noel Pointer Foundation

The Noel Pointer Foundation (NPF) was incorporated in 1995 under the direction of Ms. Chinita Pointer, wife of the late Grammy nominated jazz violinist Noel Pointer. In 1998, the Noel Pointer Foundation created a string music education program for 18 students at Public School 44. Fulfilling an incredible need, they were soon asked to do the same for many other schools. The program currently exists in over 30 different New York City Schools. Due to the successes of this program, NPF began offering music enrichment programs at their headquarters in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. In 1999 NPF instituted the Summer String Program, serving an average of 200 pupils per summer. In 2000, NPF created more opportunities for inner-city youth by opening the Saturday Strings program. The NPF Youth Orchestra, formed in 2008, performs with famous musical icons and ensembles such as Mos Def, Mark O?Connor, Strings of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. In 2010, NPF increased personalized attention by providing more private instruction through an After-School Strings Program. Since the Foundation?s inception, NPF has served over 30,000 New York City public school children.