Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras Selected for OpenAI Foundation’s People-First AI Fund
Unrestricted support strengthens TRYPO’s mission and fuels exploration into ethical, community-centered uses of technology in youth music education
PITTSBURGH, PA — Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras (TRYPO) has been selected as one of 208 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive a grant from the OpenAI Foundation’s inaugural People-First AI Fund. Nearly 3,000 organizations applied for funding, which totals $40.5 million in unrestricted support. TRYPO’s $90,000 award represents approximately 10% of the organization’s annual budget.
Because the grant is fully unrestricted, it will primarily support TRYPO’s essential programming including rehearsals, coaching, performances, and scholarships, while giving staff the breathing room to thoughtfully assess whether emerging technologies might enhance learning, reflection, or storytelling in alignment with TRYPO’s mission.
“TRYPO has always been about human connection,” said Lindsey Nova, Executive Director. “This funding strengthens our mission today and gives us space to explore whether new tools could deepen, not diminish, the collaborative spirit at the heart of music education.”
TRYPO will use this opportunity to research the feasibility and value of two early-stage concepts inspired by staff insights and their ethical daily use of AI to support administrative efficiency:
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Rehearsal Reviewer: an AI-assisted concept that could help students better retain conductor feedback and reflect on their musical growth.
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Student Insight & Impact Generator: A tool to help students quickly reflect on their rehearsal experiences in their own voice each week, giving conductors and staff real-time insight into learning and wellbeing, while also generating authentic student-driven stories that can be shared with funders and the community.
These ideas remain fully exploratory and will only advance if they show clear benefit to students, educators, and the broader TRYPO community.
The initial spark for these concepts emerged through conversations between Nova and Adam Hertzman, Founder of Adartova Consulting Company. Hertzman, whose two sons are TRYPO alumni and whose wife Monica currently serves as TRYPO’s Board President, encouraged Nova to apply to the OpenAI Foundation and served as a thought partner in brainstorming early conceptual directions.
“As someone who works at the intersection of nonprofit strategy, communications, and artificial intelligence, I’m excited to see TRYPO exploring people-first questions about how AI can support learning and strengthen community,” said Hertzman. “TRYPO is approaching this experimentation thoughtfully with a goal that goes to the heart of their mission, amplifying students’ experiences.”
The OpenAI Foundation describes the People-First AI Fund as a commitment to organizations “rooted in the needs of their communities, with a proven history of helping their neighbors thrive.” TRYPO is honored to join a diverse group of grantees working to ensure that AI’s future is shaped by educators, artists, caregivers, and community leaders, not just technologists.
“Conductors, teaching artists, and ensemble experiences will always be irreplaceable,” Nova emphasized. “What excites us about this funding is the chance to ask big questions about the future—and to answer them in a way that keeps humanity at the center. AI is here to stay. It’s not going anywhere, so we might as well do our best to make sure it becomes a tool for good.”
Media Contact
Robin Thompson
Director of Marketing and Communications
Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras
robin@trypo.org
412-391-0526
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