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My trip to Fort Collins, CO marked a lot of firsts for me. It was my first time flying alone out-of-state. It was my first time being away from my one-year-old daughter for a week. And it was my first time attending Rock Fest. Seems like a pretty casual event to be attending for professional development, but it was exactly what I needed. Rock Fest is annually hosted by the national organization Little Kids Rock. Its premise is to reach the 2.1 million children who do not receive music education and to continue promoting and expanding the opportunities for children who have access to music.

Over the past several months we've been working to ensure your Giving Tuesday and end-of-year donations to #SpreadMusicHere were given to programs where they could make the most impact.

Last November, Andy Davis, founder of the Music Empowers Foundation, announced some big changes for his organization. If you haven’t heard already, Music Empowers Foundation has stopped accepting donations and is joining SpreadMusicNow.

Welcome to SpreadMusicNow! We are so excited to have you join our mission to transform children's lives through music education. If you haven't had a chance to learn about us on our Website, or via Facebook and Twitter, please do so. But, in short, if you love Music Empowers and want to continue supporting music education, you've come to the right place.

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.

During our Crowdrise fundraising event, we offered an additional $2,000 to the team that raised the most funds by the end of our benefit concert, A Night at Studio 54, on May 30th. Everyone worked hard towards our common goal, but two organizations pulled ahead of the rest.

Today, SpreadMusicNow and Band Together are formally announcing our benefit concert for Connecticut students. All proceeds from the event will support a coalition of organizations that provide music education to needy students, helping them develop skills for college, career and life success.

March is an exciting month; and it's always been this way for me, ever since I discovered the violin and piano Romance by Amy Beach - a female composer from New England. While a student at the University of Connecticut and a full-time violinist, I wanted to program repertoire that was not the usual Beethoven Sonata (and don't get me wrong, I love Beethoven sonatas!).

How wonderful to begin 2015 with a feeling of gratitude. I'm so grateful for our supporters' commitment to providing underserved students with music education! BeFoundation launched the SpreadMusicNow Fund to support music education in partnership with Fairfield County's Community Foundation last summer. Six months have passed and we are so thankful, humbled, and overwhelmed by the outpouring of interest and support among our ever-growing number of followers and donors.

Last week, we donated some 2,000 musical instruments to go along with three years of committed educator support to bring a Modern Band program to Hartford Public Schools students. So, what is Modern Band, and why is this important?