Music Will Announces 11th Annual Modern Band Summit Championing Its Educators Committed To Nationwide Multi-Genre Music Education July 12th-14th

Special Hip Hop Round Table Panel featuring Producer J Rawls, The Artist Y?, Rapper Toki Wright, Hip-Hop Artist Queen Herawin and Award-Winning Community Organizer Martha Diaz

July 5th, 2023 — Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock), the largest non-profit music education program for schools across the U.S., will host its 11th annual professional development conference Modern Band Summit from July 12 – 14, 2023 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. 

For three days, music educators and special guests including multi Grammy-Award winning funk pioneer Bootsy Collins, producer J Rawls, the hip-hop artists Y? and Queen Herawin, rapper Toki Wright, and community organizer Martha Diaz, will come together to learn, teach, play music, and experience the modern band curriculum. Comprising hundreds of teachers, district and state arts administrators, university professors, artists, advocacy groups, instrument manufacturers, and other experts from grades K-12, the Modern Band Summit is a congregation of those passionate about the rising tide of culturally-responsive music education. For new teachers, there is also a pre-conference day on July 11 with their Modern Band 101 Workshop and the ability to join virtually for the entirety of the weekend.

This year’s programming will include a keynote from Bootsy Collins on July 12th as well as a breakout session which will include a virtual component where he introduces Funktropolis in the Metaverse. The groovy keynote with Bootsy will be followed by an important conversation featuring Pepperminte Patti about Funk Not Fight, a movement which helps calm violence with music. This initiative is brought to you by the Bootsy Collins Foundation.

In addition to what promises to be a stellar keynote from Bootsy Collins, Music Will will present a special Hip Hop Round Table featuring J Rawls, the artists Y? and Queen Herawin, rapper Toki Wright, and community organizer Martha Diaz. The conference itself will have several workshops, but the round table will be a particular highlight and speaks to Music Will’s longrunning effort to expand their hip-hop curriculum and reach a large contingent of the students they serve. 

About the genesis of "Enter the Cypher:"

Music Will brought together seven Hip Hop education scholars and culture bearers for the purpose of developing a more in-depth Hip Hop curriculum and titled the initiative "Enter the Cypher." Members of the group include industry leaders Martha Diaz, Toki Wright, Y?, Queen Herawin, J Rawls, Carla Becker and Doug Brown. This work was demonstrated at last year's Modern Band Summit where the three most popular sessions were all Hip Hop-focused.  

Recently, the group convened in the birthplace of Hip Hop, the Bronx, to develop and draft the first-ever Hip Hop Guidelines which will serve as a standards-based framework that schools and educators can use to establish and nurture their own cypher-based program. Modern Band Summit attendees will be some of the first to hear the findings and developments of the standards-based blueprint. 

For more information on this year’s summit and details on how to get involved visit: https://musicwill.org/events/modern-band-summit/ 

This year’s summit follows Music Will’s 15th annual star-studded Los Angeles benefit which honored the work of Tony Award-winning singer/actress Idina Menzel, influential guitarist/singer/activist Tom Morello, 12-time Grammy Award-winning producer/recording artist Babyface and pioneering music educator Dave Wish. 

In addition to stellar performances from Babyface, Idina Menzel, and Tom Morello, the benefit stage welcomed singer/songwriter Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago, Our Native Daughters), comedian Gary Gulman, DJ Skee, and Music Will school program participants from Miramonte Elementary School, and the Verdugo Hills High School--all overseen by musical director Michael Bearden (Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston). The benefit itself sought to provide essential funding for Music Will’s ongoing mission to provide teacher training, a diverse curriculum, and free musical instruments to students---connecting them with the music that ignites their interest. Over one million young people across the U.S. have been impacted by the organization’s program to date.

Since Music Will was founded in 2002, its mission has remained steadfast while the population it serves has grown exponentially. It is now the largest non-profit music program in U.S. public schools. With a vision that music education should be as diverse as the people it serves, the organization rebranded in 2022 with its new name, reflecting service to kids of all ages, across all genres of music.

About Music Will 

Music Will runs the largest nonprofit music program in the U.S. public school system. Its teachers currently serve over 500,000 students in more than 600 cities and towns across the country. They believe that music education is a right, not a privilege, and it should reflect the cultures of the students it serves. That’s why, for two decades now, their programs have taught students such popular American genres as rock, pop, R&B, Latin, rap and country—alongside styles already taught in schools, such as classical and jazz. Today, a national network of K-12 districts has adopted the Music Will program as their own. Additionally, more than 70 colleges and universities now use their approach to music education majors. Several state departments of education have partnered with Music Will to grow music education in the schools they serve. Its mission of transforming lives by transforming music education has grown into a movement. 

Music Will began as an informal effort by former Palo Alto school teacher, Dave Wish, who was frustrated by the lack of music programming in his school. Borrowing from friends and scouring area flea markets for instruments, he began offering free guitar classes after school using the popular music the students wanted to play. Many school teachers in Dave’s area were inspired by his program’s incredible impact, so he began offering training to help them start their own music classes. He coined the term "modern band" to describe his unique curriculum, later publishing Modern Band Method textbooks with Hal Leonard. Dave left the classroom in 2002 to found “Little Kids Rock,” the nonprofit that became Music Will in 2022. In 2023, Dave took on the new role of Chief Visionary Officer, focusing on strategy and organizational evangelism.

About Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins ranks among the most exceptional funk and R&B bassists, singers, bandleaders, and music producers in history, and has been recognized by Rolling Stone as the number four bassist of all time. 

From 1969 to 1971, the group functioned as James Brown’s backup band and was dubbed the J.B.’s. In 1972, Bootsy joined George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic. Collins launched Bootsy’s Rubber Band as a spinoff of P-Funk in 1976.

About J Rawls

Producer/DJ/Author/Educator/Speaker known for his work with Black Star, a Hip Hop group comprised of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Dr. Rawls contributed production on “Brown Skin Lady” and “Yo, Yeah,” which placed him on the map among independent hip hop producers. The album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, was critically acclaimed as one of the best albums of 1998 and was a major force in the late-1990s underground hip hop explosion. Dr. Rawls has also worked with artists such as Dose One, Domo Genesis (Odd Future), Capital Steez (Pro Era), Beastie Boys, Slum Village, El Da Sensei, Sadat X, Count Bass D, Grand Agent, 9th Wonder, J-Live, Us3, and Moka Only. Dr. Rawls has released three solo albums, and contributed to the NEO-SOUL movement producing the likes of Aloe Blacc, Eric Roberson, Dudley Perkins, and many others. Fusing jazz and hip hop, (coining the term “Jazz-Hop”) his 2006 work with The Liquid Crystal Project led to national acclaim for his collaboration with B-Jazz, Rob Riley, Eddie Bayard and Charles Cooper and their tribute to the legendary producer J Dilla. 

His Columbus-based production company and record label continues to make an impact in the national Hip Hop scene, and he is in high demand as a DJ for top clubs and private functions around the country. 

Dr. Rawls is also featured presenter for the Places of Invention, Bronx NY exhibit that opened in July of 2015, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. In this exhibit, a virtual J Rawls walks visitors through the nuances of how to scratch and mix on a replica turntable.

Dr. Rawls holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Cincinnati, a master’s degree in education from Ashland University, and an Educational Doctorate in Educational Administration from Ohio University. He is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio and has presented workshops on the music industry, Hip Hop Education and beat making at several major universities around the country. He also has over 15 years of K-12 teaching experience. In 2019, Rawls co-authored the book, "Youth Culture Power: A #HipHopEd Guide to Teacher-Student Relationships and Student Engagement" with John Robinson through Peter Lang Publishers. 

About Y?

Y? is the founder and Director of Programs at Creative Expressions, a native NYC Artivist and Educator who uses art as a tool for liberation and community building. His journey has included explorations as a songwriter, performer, audio engineer and artist educator. Through the creation of music he honed his skills molding himself into a musician, composer and producer of music, events, and performing arts through the mantra WhyNotShowLove. Y? utilizes these skills to build and serve the community. Creative Expressions uses “Cypher Pedagogy” as the framework for our offerings.

About Toki Wright

2x Emmy Award-winning musician and educator Wright co-curated the 2x CLIO Award-winning and Cannes Lion-nominated Watch The Stove mixtape for General Mills (biggest viral marketing campaign of 2016). Wright charted top 50 on MTV and iTunes, performed at Coachella, Rock The Bells etc. He has toured globally with multiple groups, released recordings with Talib Kweli, BJ The Chicago Kid, etc.

Wright is Chair of Professional Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He was formerly Department Head of the United States’ first fully accredited Hip-Hop Studies program at McNally Smith College of Music.

Toki delivered a celebrated TED Talk “Hip-Hop and Track II Diplomacy,” led the youth non-profit YO! The Movement, facilitating 7 Hip-Hop Festivals. He also helped establish “Hip-Hop at H.E.A.L.S” for former child soldiers in Gulu, Uganda.

Toki has created radio programs, writes for multiple publications, and judged NPR’s “Tiny Desk Contest.”

About Queen Herawin 

Queen Herawin is a Hip-Hop artist, visual artist, curator, professor, and cultural ambassador to the U.S. She is a member of the family-based group, The Juggaknots. As a group, they have produced projects such as The Re-Release, Use Your Confusion, The Love Movement and WKRP in NYC. Metamorphosis, her solo album released in 2015, gave an expanded view into her creative expression and individual voice. However, projects such as the Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1, set a tone in the early 90’s with the song “Weight” showing her lyrical position as an Indelible MC. She would later follow up with another strong feature alongside brother Breeze Brewin on Prince Paul’s Hip-Hop-like-Opera, A Prince Among Thieves. She also has a solid track record of collaborations with various artists such as Apani B Fly, Mr. Len of Company Flow, Wordsworth, Masta Ace, Cymarshall Law, Tiye Phoenix, Stahhr and others. She has toured both within the U.S. and internationally, sharing her passion for music with fans worldwide.

She is a certified educator, with teaching experience as an educator and art educator for over twenty years. Her knowledge as an educator has brought her to classrooms in the Bronx and Westchester areas of NYC, along with Chicago, IL, and Peru. She is currently a professor at Monroe College in New York.

Her most recent creative ventures include a solo EP entitled, The Space Between Things, a newfound passion for documentary film with an interview series called, “The Process Sessions” and collaboration credits on an all-female project orchestrated by Multi-Platinum Grammy Winner Producer, Nottz, called T.F.I.F. (The Future Is Female). She is also part of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, Education Committee.

Queen Herawin was on Next Level Team Peru and will return as Site Manager for Next Level Team Barbados.

About Martha Diaz

Martha Diaz (MD) is an award-winning community organizer, media producer, archivist, curator, educator, and social entrepreneur. MD has traversed the Hip-Hop entertainment industry, the public arts and education sector, and the academy over the past 30 years. Through her exhibitions, and publications of research reports, books, and curricula, she has chronicled Hip-Hop history to preserve its cultural value and memory. A graduate of New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program, MD has worked on archival projects with Parkwood Entertainment (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), Tupac Shakur Estate, and The Paley Center for Media to name a few. In 2010, MD launched the Hip-Hop Education Center to professionalize and cultivate the burgeoning global movement. MD is currently the co-Chair of the California Department of Education Hip Hop Education and Equity Initiative, and Chair of Archives, Curatorial, and Education at the Universal Hip Hop Museum.

For more information please contact Rebecca Shapiro or Grace Fleisher at Shore Fire Media at rshapiro@shorefire.com or gfleisher@shorefire.com.