The Philadelphia Clef Club, founded in 1966, is an iconic Philadelphia institution and one of the oldest jazz organizations in America. While perhaps best known for hosting public concerts from prominent jazz musicians, the Clef Club prides itself on a thriving music education program for children and teens in the region. Through the Arts + Business Council’s Culture:SHIFT program, Clef Club has been able to partner with CapTech Consulting on a digital transformation of the organization’s educational program.

Over the course of roughly six months, CapTech Consulting, a national technology, business, and creative consulting firm that has partnered with some of the world’s most successful companies in pioneering custom solutions, worked closely with the Clef Club to provide them with a customized Music Education Management Application. This app will be used by parents, teachers, and administrators as part of an ongoing technological transformation.

“The Clef Club is a presenting organization, but our emphases is actually on our Music Education Program, which offers students (K-12) private music lessons and ensemble training with Clef Club faculty members, who are practicing professional artists, specializing specifically in Jazz,” said Anne Edmunds, Strategic Advisor at the Clef Club. “Many students who participate in our music education program have gone on to receive significant four-year scholarships to attend some of the world’s best music programs in the world like Julliard and Colombia University.”

But the music education program faced a “user experience issue,” in the words of Clef Club’s Production Manager, Oscar Payne. The entire process of registering participants, communicating with parents and students, and delivering a positive learning experience was done manually. With an app, Clef Club could not only keep up with the times and become more efficient but also improve their data collection. “We also were in need of a central data repository to support fundraising efforts and help tell our story and demonstrate our impact. This is a tremendous first step in the right direction to help modernize the Clef Club,” said Rhonda Young, Clef Club’s IT and Data Management Consultant.

To support this effort, CapTech developed a custom application that will impact all stages of the education lifecycle. Registration and payment will now take place online through a process designed for busy parents. Teachers will be able to take attendance in real time and easily manage their class schedules. The data generated by these new processes will be available to administrators through interactive dashboards for detailed analysis. In all, Clef Club leadership is thrilled about the opportunities this application makes possible.

“In addition to this specific project, throughout CapTech encouraged us to look at the organization as a whole and helped us identify areas where we needed improvement. Their efforts will help our students, parents, faculty members and administrators interact with the work of the Clef Club more effectively,” said Anne Edmunds, “I can’t say enough about CapTech and their follow through on this project.”

The partnership was not only beneficial for the Clef Club. For the CapTechers who volunteered to make it a reality, it was an experience they’ll remember long after the official deployment.

“At CapTech, we’re always looking for different ways to diversify our support of the Philadelphia nonprofit sector,” said Stacey Richardson, a Senior Manager in CapTech’s Management Consulting practice, who served as one of the sponsors of this project. “The Arts + Business Council’s CultureShift program presented us the opportunity to roll up our sleeves, and devote time and expertise to strengthening the digital capabilities of nonprofit organizations in the region like The Clef Club. We care about this community and believe in this organization. I like to think that our consultants who worked on this project, now that our work is done, are starting to think about different ways they can continue to get involved in their communities.”

During this moment in time, when face-to-face interaction isn’t an option, having digital capacity is more important than ever. With the help and support of several dedicated consultants from CapTech Consulting, the Philadelphia Clef Club is more prepared to adapt and navigate these difficult times.