By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director
Kaia, a 4th grader at Rio Vista Elementary, was told that drums are for boys. She was inspired to begin playing the drums because no one was going to tell her she could not. This small step will shape how Kaia sees herself and develops as a young woman and citizen of the world. “I decided to play the drums because a lot of boys said that I couldn’t because I was a girl and I just wanted to prove them wrong.”
“Music makes my life better because it’s really, really fun, and it helps me get motivated for school, and when I’m having a hard time I can just practice,” shares Kaia.
Thanks to supporters like you, children like Kaia can continue to thrive through a robust and well-rounded education that includes music and the arts.
On April 17, 2015, along with over 170 other students, Kaia participated in ETM-LA’s 5th Annual Music Unites the World Festival bringing together students from all over Los Angeles County – Chinatown to Compton, Burbank to Boyle Heights and Sylmar to Sun Valley. They were excited to play music with peers whom they had just met and to receive coaching from our Music Faculty members, guest artists and educators including Joseph Trapanese (Composer, Insurgent, Oblivion, Earth to Echo), Misha Shtangrud (Choral Director, Colburn School), and Phil Feather (Studio Woodwinds Musician, Jurassic World, Mad Men).
Kaia is currently one of over 7,000 schoolchildren we serve at 16 disadvantaged schools with weekly, yearlong comprehensive music instruction. Our goal for the upcoming school year – and our 10th Anniversary – is to expand to reach over 8,500 children at 20 schools.
We would love to invite you to visit our music classes in action at anytime. In addition, as we expand our music education programs, we’d love to hear from you on how we can make the greatest impact in serving school communities with the greatest need.
Thank you for joining our mission and providing children with hope for a brighter future through music education!
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By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director
By Victoria Lanier | Executive Director
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