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Our Benefit Concert for Music Education Raised Over $78,000

(Photo by Ron Kovis)

First of all, I would like to thank every donor (more than 160 of you!), every attendee at the amazing show, the music educators that make all the difference, and the awesome students that performed with the band of superb musicians brought together by our fabulous partner Band Together CT.  The benefit concert on May 30th exceeded our expectations and we were so heartened by the outpouring of support to help propel a music education movement in Connecticut and strengthen the arts education sector.

The May 30th concert, which broke Band Together's fundraising record for a single event, raised a total of $78,000, including over $72,000 in donations for underserved student's music education. Connecticut-based BeFoundation provided a $25,000 grant to the SpreadMusicNow Fund at Fairfield County's Community Foundation to match donations raised by the coalition of 13 nonprofits collaborating to strengthen music and arts education for needy Connecticut youngsters: BackCountry Jazz, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Creative Connections, KEYS, INTAKE Music, Hartford Performs, Litchfield Jazz Camp, Little Kids Rock, Music Haven, Neighborhood Studios, Project Music, Westport Arts Center, and WPKN.

The concert, A Night at Studio 54 in Support of Music Education, featured a dance and funk show channeling the popular nightclub, Studio 54. The evening's main event, Band Together, put on an outstanding performance - belting out tightly honed renditions of 70s and 80s dance classics that kept everyone on their feet the entire night. Two student ensembles performed: the Charter Oak Cultural Center's Good Vibrations rap group prepared the crowd for an amazing night with a pre-show routine in the lobby and Project Music's bucket drummers kept everyone entertained during the break. Several nonprofit leaders - themselves professional musicians - joined the stage as special guests, including Rob Silvan of the KEYS Program, Bennie Wallace of BackCountry Jazz and Angie Durrell from INTAKE Music.

Charter Oak Cultural Center's Good Vibrations Rap Group (Photo by Ron Kovis)

Project Music's Bucket Drummers (Photo by Ron Kovis)  

On the whole, it was a night of energy, inspiration and fun - all in support of music education. This is only the beginning of our statewide initiative to bring music and arts education to underserved youth in Connecticut. 

(Photo by SimplyMaura Photography)

We work with nonprofit organizations in concert with school-based educators for a reason.  Only by working together can we propel public awareness of the need to reinvest in music education and to close the opportunity gap for children's access and engagement to music and arts education.   We must all be committed to the right of every child to benefit from high quality arts education both because the arts are core to our humanity but also because the arts are vital to students' preparedness for college, career, and citizenship.  All children deserve a pathway and a continuum of support for learning in school and out of school -- anytime, anyplace.

If you agree with what we are doing and want to get involved, please contact us.