Little Kids Rock

Media Contact:

Keith Hejna
Little Kids Rock

Work: (973) 746-8248, ext. 114

keith@littlekidsrock.org

 
$40,000 NAMM program grant helps fund LKR music education initiative

Montclair, NJ, Aug. 31, 2009 — Little Kids Rock (LKR), a national nonprofit music program that provides free instruments and instruction to underfunded public schools, today announced that the NAMM Foundation has awarded LKR a $40,000 Program Grant for the 2009-10 school year. The grant will help fund LKR’s Contemporary Band initiative in Los Angeles, California, which will initiate a Rock Band as a “fifth stream” of music education in public schools to complement Orchestra, Marching Band, Chorus, and Jazz Band programs.

“Little Kids Rock has made music education so much more relevant for entirely new swaths of the student body at my school!” said Sarah Fuller, a current LKR teacher in Los Angeles selected to participate in the Contemporary Band pilot program.

Contemporary Band is a critical means for teachers to bring music making to students who may not be interested in traditional band and orchestra programs.

NAMM’s support of LKR dates back to LKR’s founding. By pioneering new methods to revolutionize how music is taught, LKR has become a widely respected innovator and advocate in public school education, restoring and revitalizing programs in communities where music programs were previously nonexistent or ailing.

“The kids’ faces tell the story,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. “Member support of our NAMM trade shows makes our funding of Little Kids Rock possible and allows more kids to discover the joys of making music.”

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that transforms children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in underfunded public schools. LKR was founded in San Francisco in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, LKR is the leading music education nonprofit in the US, serving more than 42,000 students at over 1,100 schools in 23 cities nationwide. LKR Honorary Board Members include Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Ziggy Marley, and other famous friends in the music industry. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org.

About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs from the international music products industry.