Education United States Project #2803

Give In-School Music Classes to Los Angeles Youth

by Education Through Music-Los Angeles (ETM-LA, Inc.)

Give In-School Music Classes to Los Angeles Youth

Project Report | Oct 26, 2016
Music Helps Students Go 'Far and Wide'

By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director

Dorris Place Student Shows Her Love of Learning

Through music, our students are achieving in leaps and bounds – learning new music skills which they apply to their everyday lives. One Education Through Music-LA parent says, “my child is more responsive in school and expressing himself a lot more.” This past September, Dorris Place Elementary students teamed up with Grammy-Winning Liz Rose (Taylor Swift) & Phil Barton at Country Music Hall of Fame (CMHOF) to debut their co-written song – named “Far and Wide” - at All for the Hall at the Novo Downtown Los Angeles. This partnership was an effort to promote song-writing skills in music class as part of regular core curriculum. "This was magical," says Parent Blaire Lennane. “Seeing the kids’ faces light up during rehearsal and on stage reminds us all why we do what we do,” shared a CMHOF representative.

This October, our students at Normandie Elementary in South Central were treated to a special visit by Actor/Musician Ed Helms, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. The kids were mesmerized by the folk and bluegrass music and got to showcase their impressive call and response skills on the song, “Nine Pound Hammer."

Education Through Music-LA is grateful for all of your endless support to further our mission of providing quality music education in disadvantaged LA schools! With your dedication, our organization is reaching farther and wider to serve more children and communities, meeting these milestones:

Serving approximately 12,000 students in 25 partner schools this year.
Building our capacity with over 30 music educators on our staff.
Providing over 1,100 hours of professional development for our music teachers and school leaders.
100% of classroom teachers we surveyed cited music as a vital part of the core curriculum.

Thank you for coming alongside Education Through Music-LA in our 11th year to make music in schools a reality, and to allow a child to dream and achieve big, far and wide!

Dorris Place Student Smiles at Songwriting

Ed Helms, Sara & Sean Watkins Bring Music & Joy

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Jul 28, 2016
Through Music, a Student Learns to Handle Any Challenge

By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director

Sunny is all smiles after a violin performance!

In our 10^th anniversary year, thanks to your support, Education Through Music-Los Angeles was able to reach over 10,000 students with weekly, yearlong music education as part of the core curriculum. The music programs at our Los Angeles partner schools this school year generated positive outcomes for children and school communities.

Now entering the 9^th grade, Sunny was just a 2^nd grader when we first met her at our Partner School, Castelar Elementary. We recently caught up with Sunny as an alumna of our programs, and are excited to share through hers and her Grandma’s eyes how music has changed her life.

Her Grandma’s initial reaction to Sunny’s interest in playing an instrument six years ago was - “tremendously shocked.” There was musical history within the family. However, it had not been handed down to Sunny, or so they thought. Sunny’s first interest came when she was introduced to the violin. She quickly excelled with her raw talent, hard work and guidance. “Sunny improved not only in her grades but as well in her ability to communicate. With her ability to be able to play music she began to improve on her speaking grammatically correct, an improvement in listening, and being able to have more focus when it came to class and homework.” In addition, Sunny’s Grandma stated that she “advanced to the top through music.” She is able to feel “capable” of handling any challenge that is thrown at her.

From her own words, Sunny articulates, “Playing the violin has opened up new horizons for me and given me the opportunity to meet and experience many different cultures from all backgrounds. One thing that I really love about playing the violin is how students unite together through the sound of music. When I am missing my parents I turn to music and prayer. I truly feel that music is the bridge to stop war and hate among all people and bring peace and joy to the world.” “Music is healing,” says Sunny’s Grandma, “and brings people together, unites them, and forms a sense of connectedness.”

We are thrilled Sunny has been accepted to a top arts magnet high school in Los Angeles, and will continue to pursue her dream of being a lawyer and violinist!

Furthermore, school communities have responded to the impact of music education: Parents, teachers, and principals observed that music contributed to overall improvements in students' ability to think outside the box, stay motivated in school, self-confidence and self-esteem, and ability to pay attention and focus (Community Partnership Survey 2016). When asked on a survey, “Do you think music education is important for the school and community?” -100% of surveyed parents replied, “Yes.”

Thank you for your continued partnership to create lasting change and impact for students like Sunny so they may have equal opportunities for a successful future!

A Look Back at Sunny's 5th Grade Graduation

ETM-LA Partners Up with LAUSD for a Music Festival

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Apr 28, 2016
Candace's Life is Changed Through Music

By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director

Candace proudly smiles after a performance (2016)

Jennifer, mother of Candace, has seen the important role music plays in her daughter’s life. “Music has enhanced Candace’s life and has helped her in math and reading. She loves to sing and gets involved in music as much as possible,” shares Jennifer. For Candace, music has become an essential part of her life. “I love music class because we get to participate in a lot of different things; we play instruments and sing songs,” shares Candace.

This year, Education Through Music-LA provides Candace with weekly, yearlong music education at Cleveland Elementary School in Pasadena. Through her hard work, she was chosen to sing solos to “Glory” from the Motion Picture, Selma – for which artists John Legend and Common won Academy and Golden Globe Awards. When speaking about music, Candace relays her joy for singing, along with music’s tremendous power and impact: “We are united by the beat we hear and the rhythm we sing…It unites us with hope, joy, courage, and good will.”

“We have to find a way to continue music education. She will miss Cleveland Elementary and ETM-LA when she leaves 5th grade. We don’t want it to stop,” says her mother.

Thank you for helping us bring music education to Candace and approximately 10,000 disadvantaged children in 20 schools across Los Angeles in our 10^th year of programming. Music has transformed our school communities. Thank you for making this change possible.

Teachers also see the impact of music, with 100% of classroom teachers recognizing that music is a vital part of the curriculum and 94% observing that music supported overall improvements in students’ self-confidence and self-esteem (Partnership Survey 2015).

Yet, there are still hundreds of thousands of children not receiving comprehensive music education in Los Angeles County alone.

With your partnership, we can continue to change the tide and provide hope and joy to children like Candace, who hopes to be a scientist or musician when she grows up. With quality music education in school, we believe Candace will have an equal opportunity to achieve her dreams.

Candace Performs Glory (Selma) at the Skirball

Students from across LA are united through music

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