Shelter Music Boston
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  • Home
  • What we do
    • Who We Serve
    • Children's Program
    • Concert Experience
    • Impact
    • Concert Calendar & Programs
  • Who we are
    • Our Story
    • Mission, Vision, and Values
    • Musicians
    • Leadership
    • Internship Program
  • Donate
    • Donate to the Mission of SMB
    • Donate when you shop online
    • In-Kind Contributions
    • Foundation, Corporate, and Individual Donors
  • Get Involved
    • Events >
      • Past Events
    • Host a House Concert
    • Newsletter
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Press & Awards
    • Press
    • Awards
    • Social Innovation Forum
  • Video
    • Videos about SMB
    • Performances by SMB
  • Links
    • Citizen Artists Working for Social Change
    • Transformational Power of Music
  • SMB Blog

Our Story


Julie Leven on the origins of Shelter Music Boston
"Since I first picked up the violin as a nine-year old, the instrument has been my calling: the beauty, emotional expressiveness, and depth of the music are infinitely rewarding. I have played professionally for over 25 years in the great concert halls of the world and on 20 commercial recordings.

​In December 2009 I read in the New York Times about violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, who plays in homeless shelters in Manhattan. Immediately I realized that we need this in Boston; that I would create a sustainable nonprofit organization to be staffed by professional musicians who would deliver concerts as a social service.  Soon, I had lined up concerts, two per month, at the Shattuck Shelter and Kitty Dukakis Treatment Center in Jamaica Plain, MA.


The first concerts were a revelation: never had I experienced such a level of appreciation for my art from an audience. Performing in environments of great need is a natural evolution of the role classical music should fill in modern society. To have a positive impact on the life of a homeless individual by playing my violin is to honor classical music and the dignity of all people."
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Photo Credit: Steve Olimpio

Milestones on our Journey

  • May 2010:  First concerts at Kitty Dukakis Treatment Center and Shattuck Shelter. 
  • May 2011:  Marked the first year anniversary of Shelter Music Boston concerts.  
  • October 2011:  Shelter Music Boston musicians commenced a new shelter concert series at Rosie's Place, made possible by the first foundation to invest in our work: the PatsyLu Fund for Women's Projects, of the Open Meadows Foundation.
  • March 2012:  Concerts commence at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program and Pine Street Inn.  
  • May 2012:  First concerts at Women's Residential Treatment Program at Dimock Center.
  • December 2012:  Shelter Music Boston was selected by the Social Innovation Forum of Root Cause as their first-ever Classical Music Social Innovator.
  • May, 2013:  Julie Leven introduced Shelter Music Boston to the audience at the Social Innovation Forum Showcase ~ the first SIF Showcase presentation ever to include live classical music.
  • June 2013: Concerts start at the Crittenton Women's Union Hastings House ~ the first Shelter Music Boston concerts for women with young children. 
  • July 2013: 100th SMB shelter performance!
  • April 2014: Julie was named a Boston Neighborhood Fellows Program Award Winner, and the first-ever classical musician to win this award. Expansion to seven shelters in 2014--five in Boston, one in Cambridge and one in Waltham.
  • November 2014: The Massachusetts House of Representatives recognized Shelter Music Boston for "concerts that bring the arts, dignity, and respect to homeless men and women."
  • During 2015: welcomed to the rosters of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Cultural Council, and performed concerts at Women's Lunch Place.  We performed our 250th shelter concert!
  • In 2016: expanded service to Lifebridge of Salem, providing the North Shore of Boston with shelter concerts.
  • In 2017: welcomed to the roster of the National Endowment for the Arts, served the Lowell Transitional Living Center and added concerts at the Men's Stabilization Program of Pine Street Inn.
  • In 2018: named our concert series for women in recovery at the Dimock Center the Ilene Beal Concerts for Women in recognition of a $250,000 grant from the Beal Charitable Foundation.  Piloted concerts for homeless children in partnership with The Boston Philharmonic and the Malden-based organization, Housing Families.
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info@sheltermusicboston.org
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