On May 30, 2017, Music Together joined music education nonprofit Little Kids Rock to deliver brand new instruments to students at Franklin Learning Center in Philadelphia, PA, in celebration of our support of Little Kids Rock as they provide resources, curriculum, and instruments to music students in underserved schools across the United States.
Music Together CEO Susan Darrow with Keith Hejna from Little Kids Rock and students from Franklin Learning Center
The instruments delivered to the Philadelphia students include guitars, drum sets, and keyboards—all part of the instrumentation of Modern Band, a pioneering music program developed by Little Kids Rock that teaches kids popular musical styles of the past 60 years, including rock, reggae, hip-hop, and Latin. Modern Band is a burgeoning national movement, being added by many school districts across the country as a means of getting more kids involved in music.
We made sure there was time for a jam session with the students, too. Watch a couple of them share an Amy Winehouse song in this video shared on Facebook by Little Kids Rock.
Music Together and Little Kids Rock share a mission to make the world better by making it more musical, so our collaboration is the perfect fit. “Supporting Little Kids Rock makes so much sense,” said Music Together CEO Susan Darrow. “They’re working to ensure that all children have the chance to sing, to play instruments, to know the real joy that comes from being a music-maker. And they share our belief that every one of us is innately musical.”
“Here at Little Kids Rock, we draw the music out rather than drum it in,” added David Wish, Founder and CEO of Little Kids Rock. “We know that everyone is a natural music-maker, which is why teaming up with Music Together, a company that proves that repeatedly through programs with the youngest students, makes such great sense.”
Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education in our schools. The organization partners with public school districts to train teachers to run its innovative Modern Band curriculum, and donates all the accompanying instruments and resources necessary to teach popular music in a way that empowers students to experience instant achievement. What began as a single after-school guitar class has since exploded into a national movement that brings free, weekly music lessons to over 275,000 public school children through the efforts of more than 2,000 teachers in 140 school districts nationwide. To date, Little Kids Rock has served more than 500,000 students.
We invite you to learn more about Little Kids Rock and join our efforts to transform kids’ lives through music: littlekidsrock.org/musictogether.