Our History

Our Beginnings

HARMONY was founded in 1992 as part of the Winthrop House HAND program, initially offering music lessons at Tobin Elementary School. In 1993, it became an official PBHA program, and by 1994, it expanded to Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. That same year, HARMONY hosted its first student recital during Harvard’s ARTS FIRST festival—now a beloved tradition joined by a second recital each winter.

Over the years, HARMONY continued to grow but had an on and-off history, including a few hiatuses due to changing leadership and capacity. Still, the spirit of the program endured, and HARMONY consistently returned thanks to the passion of its volunteers, families, and students.

We’ve also expanded to include HARMONY Afterschool, now operating at Morse and Cambridgeport Elementary Schools, and this past summer, we relaunched Summer HARMONY, reaching over 500 K–9 students across Greater Boston through music enrichment and interactive lessons.

HARMONY continues to grow — and we’d love for you to be a part of it.

HARMONY's Renewal

After pausing during the COVID-19 pandemic, HARMONY was brought back in 2021 by our dear friend and former Co-Director Oliver Rancu ’25.

What began again with just three mentees has since grown into one of PBHA’s most vibrant programs. Last year, we matched over 110 mentor-mentee pairs across Cambridge, our largest number to date!

HARMONY Now