Synopsis

After her husband abandons her, violinist Roberta Guaspari moves to East Harlem with her two sons and takes a teaching job. She creates an ambitious violin program for inner-city students, gradually winning over skeptical colleagues, parents, and children. When budget cuts threaten the program's survival, Roberta and her students unite to defend the value of music education.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was inspired by the real-life Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and the documentary Small Wonders, which followed Roberta Guaspari's work teaching violin to children in East Harlem.

• The project originally carried the title 50 Violins, a reference to the size of Guaspari's teaching program.

• Madonna was initially attached to play Roberta Guaspari and spent months studying violin before leaving the production over creative differences.

• Meryl Streep had only a short preparation period for the role but practiced violin for several hours a day. She learned enough to perform portions of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins on camera.

• The Carnegie Hall finale incorporates prominent real-world violinists and students connected with the original Opus 118 program, giving the concert sequence an unusual documentary quality.

• The song "Music of My Heart," performed by Gloria Estefan and NSYNC, earned the film one of its two Academy Award nominations. The other went to Meryl Streep for Best Actress.