The Children's Beach House Summer Music Program came to a crescendo Aug. 13, with a final performance at the CBH facility on Lewes Beach.

The program was made possible through a collaboration among CBH, the Southern Delaware Orchestra and the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, which provided a grant.

A dozen students from under-resourced schools and communities across the state formed the band. Phoebe Marvel, a teaching artist-in-residence with SODELO, led the way throughout the two-month course.

The young musicians started with percussion, then added the ukulele and built up to a performance of the Ben E. King song "Stand By Me."

"My goal is for them to be comfortable and have fun. I can see they're responding; I can hear that they're playing music and enjoying themselves and feeling accomplished," Marvel said.

This was the second year for the summer music school. Thanks to the Freeman Foundation grant, the program was able to bring in an instructor and more instruments.

"This is a great example of collaboration of the arts scene developing in Southern Delaware," said Steve Mohr, SODELO board president and lead percussionist. "We're proud of not just the orchestra itself, but the types of activities we do, really becoming part of the community."

The program is an example of how Children's Beach House works to help students thrive academically, socially and emotionally.

"We do a lot of teamwork building, internal self-knowledge; music is a whole different approach to that," said Jonathan Freeman-Coppadge, Children's Beach House director of external communications. "For students who have challenges around expressing themselves and communication, music is one of the most beautiful ways to express oneself without words."