San Francisco already has one fairly well-known bridge, but SFCM's Bridge to Arts and Music (BAM) is catching up.

BAM is an afterschool program that provides scholarship-based music lessons in the fundamentals of piano, choir, and music theory for children ages 7-13 in a playful community environment. Classes are offered at SFCM's 50 Oak Street campus and at SF's historic Third Baptist Church at 1399 McAllister Street.

Students in the Bridge to Arts and Music program.

Between the two sites, enrollment is around 30 students, Program Manager Roco Córdova says. Córdova handles both the logistical and pedagogical aspects of BAM's SFCM location, communicating with parents, hiring staff, recruiting students, and authoring progress reports.  He also co-leads classes with SFCM alumna Lalita Perez Acosta (PSC '24), and is responsible for the design of the curriculum, weekly lesson plans, and group instructions, as well as acting as class accompanist on piano and guitar.

Bridge to Arts and Music program instructor Elizabeth Burch.

"I enjoy the playful energy that BAM brings into my daily life," Córdova says. "It reminds me of the importance of wandering freely in the creative process. On the other hand, there's also the satisfaction of knowing you're not only helping students develop musically but also socially and psychologically." Part of the challenge of the role, he says, is "thinking of the ways I can teach without my students realizing they're being taught."

Bridge to Arts and Music program instructor Lalita Perez Acosta.

BAM operates on a semester model, with student recitals on December 18 and May 21, 2026, opportunities for one of Córdova's other hopeful takeaways for the program's students: "I want students to walk out with memorable stories that they can reminisce about later on," he says. "Ideally I’d want them to have funny memories to retell, but also perhaps moments of sudden realization, where years later something clicks and they understand what I was trying to teach them then."

Students in the Bridge to Arts and Music program.

Students will need to apply to the BAM program annually; there is no fee to apply and applications remain open until available slots are filled. "Our roles as educators are holistic," Córdova says. "Ultimately we want to be contributors to the growth and betterment of these small humans we call children, and I see a bright and positive future for BAM. There is so much potential in this team of people and the labor we are all collectively putting in."

BAM is supported by the Kimball Foundation, the Koret Foundation, M. Isabel Valdes, and California Bank and Trust.

Learn more about the Bridge to Arts and Music program and apply here.