These Princetonians Are Teaching Music to Immigrant Children

When Lou Chen ’19 joined INTEMPO, he was surprised by a whirlwind of Princeton connections ensuring the nonprofit thrives.

INTEMPO, a Stamford, Connecticut-based nonprofit, teaches multicultural and classical music to children predominantly from immigrant backgrounds. By connecting students with music, it hopes to engage them in the field as well as use music as a way to build socioemotional and interpersonal skills.

Since joining as CEO in November 2024, Chen has worked with many fellow Princeton alums who have supported the program in various ways.

For example, Lisa Petno ’84, whose twin sons were in the same class as Chen at Princeton and were both involved in INTEMPO, was a founding board chair. Advisory council member Yousun Chung is a lecturer in the Princeton music department and has organized several benefit concerts.

And Juanita James ’74, a former Princeton trustee, was an early supporter of INTEMPO; as CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, she was instrumental in helping INTEMPO receive grants for arts and education nonprofits.

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Lou Chen ’19 created multiple arts programs before INTEMPO, including the Trenton Youth Orchestra.

Courtesy of INTEMPO

“INTEMPO matters because it builds an emotional connection and facilitates understanding between the Latino culture and Western American culture through musical expression,” James says. “Experiencing an INTEMPO performance uplifts the spirit.”

The Princeton connections make sense, Chen adds, as he feels the University encourages students to go forward into the world, during school and after graduation, with a service-minded curiosity.

“I think INTEMPO is in practice what I studied in theory at Princeton,” he says. “The commitment to service, it feels very intentionally baked into every aspect of the student experience.”

He adds, “There is a curiosity that Princeton embeds in students that leads to students asking the right questions that inevitably leads to wanting to answer them.”

Chen himself created multiple arts programs before INTEMPO, including the Trenton Youth Orchestra while he was at Princeton, for which he was recognized with the A. James Fisher Jr. Memorial Award from the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. He also launched the Saturday Morning Arts program, which connects University mentors with high school students who are invited to dance, sing, act, and play instruments on Saturday mornings.

As for INTEMPO, the group began in 2011, when violinist Angélica Durrell, an immigrant from Ecuador, founded INTAKE Music, now known as INTEMPO.

It teaches students between 6 and 17 years old, providing instruments like the violin, viola, cello, piano, and guitar; no music experience is needed. The group recruits students from all over Fairfield County with social media and tables at community events. Many come to them simply through parent word-of-mouth.

More than 700 students annually participate across all programs, including not only the music school but also the Summer Music Session and school and partnership programs. The organization celebrated its 15th anniversary in November with a quinceañera.

At INTEMPO’s music school, more than 140 students receive private and small-group instruction in instruments such as violin, piano, and guitar. They also receive lessons, Chen says, in voice and audio production.

INTEMPO also offers music classes through the after-school programs of local public schools and partners with Stamford Public Schools to teach music in its New Arrivals classes for children who migrated very recently, in some cases days earlier.

Often, just because, families will stay to chat in the lobby, or students will show up on days they don’t even have lessons, simply to do homework. Being located downtown helps foster these connections, Chen says. “We are in the community, which enables a level of deep relationship-building that I enjoy so much.”

The group also teaches Latin American instruments such as the charango, a 10-string instrument native to the Andean region. Chen says their program is the only one he knows of teaching this on the East Coast.

“That culturally responsive focus is crucial to our work,” says Chen.

Princeton sophomore and RISE intern Anabel Guerreiro works with an INTEMPO student during a summer music session.

Courtesy of INTEMPO

Princeton RISE (Recognizing Inequities and Standing for Equality) — a fellowship program that connects students with social justice organizations for summer internships — placed four interns with INTEMPO for its summer programming. Formerly, the nonprofit could only provide two weeks of classes, Chen says, but this year with that help, it was able to offer programming throughout the summer.

Princeton sophomore Anabel Guerreiro worked as a RISE intern this past summer, teaching violin, viola, and cello. She loved connecting with teachers, students, and family members, she says, as well as embracing how INTEMPO and music can bring people together.

“I think my favorite part about interning at INTEMPO was getting to be integrated into such a welcoming and vibrant community,” she says, “particularly in how the organization values being responsive to the needs of its community.”

Guerreiro grew up in nearby Fairfield, Connecticut, and as a string player, she knew about its music programs.

“To have the opportunity to be part of a group whose mission — about music and education as a means for holistic community support — I’ve always admired was one I did not want to pass up,” she says.

Of the RISE interns, Chen adds, “They really are a testament to the impact that bright, motivated Princeton students can have on a nonprofit.”

And for the INTEMPO students, as well as the Princeton students, these classes can offer a lens into something that may or may not become a career. “Even if it’s not their career path of choice, there’s always something to be learned from a different experience,” he says.