Federal Way music students have a new opportunity to access high level musical education with a new location for music program Key to Change.

The newest studio location is in Des Moines and opened in September 2024. The studio is a few blocks from Pacific Middle School and was opened to provide more access for young musicians.

“We’re really excited to be there,” founder of Key to Change Dr. Quinton Morris told the Mirror. “We want kids from Federal Way to sign up … we have scholarship money!”

Key to Change already partners with organizations like the Federal Way Symphony, which featured music student Eden Pawlos in their most recent holiday concert.

Pawlos is a senior at Kentridge High School and began participating in the Key to Change program four years ago. For her, the violin has given her exciting opportunities such as performing for Vice President Kamala Harris and performing with prestigious local symphonies.

Outside of practicing pieces for class, Pawlos told the Mirror she also enjoys the way the instrument can be a tool for expression and connection.

“I heard that the violin was created to imitate the voice, so I think that’s kind of fun. I can listen to songs or like melodies and play them,” Pawlos told the Mirror.

Sometimes these songs she plays with are from her family’s Ethiopian culture.

“My Dad will actually sometimes play along, like harmonize with an instrument he plays called a krar,” she said. “Sometimes he’ll sing me a melody that he knows from growing up, then I’ll try to play along.”

Of the program, Pawlos told the Mirror that “it helps a lot of students, not just on the violin, but in their futures. It brings them a lot of opportunities that can help them.”

Morris started the organization because he experienced firsthand how challenging it was to be a young musician in South King County with no local music schools. To access lessons, he would take three metro buses all the way from Renton to Bothell.

“There was no one in my neighborhood, and there certainly wasn’t anyone who looked like me when I was growing up [in Renton] … who at least was playing at a high level or teaching at a high level,” Morris said.

After finding success himself, he decided to provide more access for others.

Over the years since Key to Change was founded in 2017, Morris said in a video announcing the new location that “actually we have a lot of students who live in Des Moines or close to it, so [now] their lessons will be closer to home, to where they live.”

This will “provide more access just for students in general,” Morris added. “Our lessons are below the market rate so more students will be able to now participate, which is really cool.”

One of the communities that will now have more access is Federal Way.

At a recent Federal Way Public Schools update, Superintendent Dr. Dani Pfeiffer shared that there are 115 languages currently spoken in the school district and 132 countries of origin represented. Within the Key to Change studio, this multilingual dynamic is also present.

There, this variety of languages can become a community building opportunity as students translate for each other. Morris shared that he has several students who help each other out.

“We’ve got a new student barely speaks any English, and they show up to her class and translate for her,” Morris said.

“I think there’s something really powerful about a student translating on behalf of another student, especially one that they don’t know. I think that instinctively builds trust and really builds a real sense of community,” he added.

Key to Change offers instruction through group and private lessons, masterclasses and an audition-only Young Artist Academy.

For more information about Key to Change, visit www.keytochangestudio.org.