Grammy Music Education Coalition Launches All-Star Ambassador Program With Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora, Luis Fonsi And Others, And Sets 2019 Plans To Bring Music Education To Every Public School In America

Photo credit goes to: Courtesy of the Recording Academy™/photo

by Timothy Norris, Getty Images © 2019

 

PHOTO ID L-R: Paul Katz, CEO/Founder Entertain Impact; 

Tarik Ward, Director of Music Programs, ELMA Philanthropies, GMEC board chair; 

Lee Whitmore, Executive Director, GRAMMY Music Education Coalition; 

Brenda Robinson, Entertainment Attorney, Swanson Martin & Bell LLP, GMEC board member; 

Macy Gray, Artist; Charyn Harris, Executive & Artist Logistics at Macy Gray Inc.

 

Click here for event photos.

 

The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition (GMEC), the non-profit collective dedicated to bringing universal music education to all public schools in America, has announced its 2019 plans which includes an All-Star Ambassador program and the launch of intensive programs in Philadelphia and Nashville. This ambitious effort is the first of its kind to marshal the forces of many diverse like-minded institutions, and is a partnership of 40 major progressive music education and philanthropic organizations. The GRAMMY® Music Education Coalition partners range from the The GRAMMY® Museum and The Recording Academy to the NAMM Foundation (National Association of Music Merchants), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Little Kids Rock, VH1 Save the Music Foundation and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation (full list below).

Starting this spring, the GMEC will launch an All-Star Ambassador program consisting of a diverse group of musicians who all have personal connections to music education and have committed to spreading awareness and raising funds for music education. Bebe Rexha will embark on a national campaign, created by Havas, in the spring. Additional GRAMMY Music Education Coalition Ambassadors announced are: pop star Rita Ora, Broadway veteran Kristin Chenoweth, 8-time Grammy Award winner Stephen Marley, Latin Pop hit maker Luis Fonsi, rising country singer Caroline Jones, classical piano giant Lang Lang, Guns n’ Roses' Matt Sorum, saxophonist/vocalist Mindi Abair, songwriter Regina Spektor and Philly rock band the War on Drugs.

“The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition is thrilled to be celebrating universal music education participation by American elementary, middle and high school students,” said Executive Director Lee Whitmore. Today, we join with our GMEC member and partner, the GRAMMY® Museum Foundation, to inspire a future vision for careers and the arts for young people from around the Los Angeles area.

This school year, we have proudly launched our inaugural investments in the School District of Philadelphia and the Metro Nashville Public Schools. Our commitments in these first two school systems for the next three years are focused and will have a lasting impact, increasing with our community and Coalition partners, tens of thousands of new and returning students engaging and meaningful daily music education. And the Coalition and community investment goals for the school systems are $5M, each.”

On the ground, this year the GMEC is focusing on funding and services for the Nashville and Philadelphia public school systems, where the goal for this inaugural school year is to invest $1M in each district while overseeing and coordinating the programs of its Coalition partners. In Philadelphia the program includes a commercial music curriculum developed with DASH, with Live Nation and Recording Academy members along with a program coordinator. The Nashville investment includes an elementary music coach, a program coordinator, and professional development through spring/summer music and audio technology events for all teachers.

 

Finally, GRAMMY Music Education Coalition is announcing its Founders Circle, Board Members, and Executive Advisory Council.

 

Founders Circle, Board and Executive Advisory Council:

Founders Circle Members

• The Dancing Tides Foundation

• The ELMA Music Foundation

• HARMAN

• Walker Family Foundation

• Wells Fargo Foundation

 

Board

• Roger Brown 

• Richard Foos

• Jon Harris

• Neil Portnow 

• Brenda Robinson 

• Rusty Rueff 

• Jeff Walker 

• Tarik Ward 

• Cheryl Zimlich

 

Executive Advisory Council

• Monique Felder

• Ruby Marchand

• Philip Nicol

• Susan Nesbitt

• Ami Spishock

 

Active and pending Coalition members

• GRAMMY Museum Foundation 

• Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation 

• Rock and Roll Forever Foundation

• Adopt the Arts Foundation 

• The 39th Experience

• Berklee City Music

• Berklee College of Music

• Bohemian Foundation

• Conagra Brands

• David Ellefson Youth Music Foundation

• The ELMA Philanthropies Services Inc.

• Entertain IMPACT

• Ghetto Youths Foundation

• GRAMMY® Museum

• Lang Lang International Music Foundation

• Little Kids Rock

• Metro Nashville Public Schools

• The Musicians Foundation

• Musicians Institute

• NAfME

• NAMM

• NAMM Foundation

• Nat King Cole Generation of Hope 

• Patti and Rusty Rueff Foundation

• Quadrant Research

• Recording Academy

• School District of Philadelphia

• Shout! Factory

• Sony / ATV Music Publishing 

• VH1 Save The Music Foundation

• Walker Family Foundation

• Warner Music Group

 

Ambassador corps

• Bebe Rexha

• Caroline Jones

• Fitz and The Tantrums

• Kristin Chenoweth

• Lang Lang

• Luis Fonsi

• Matt Sorum (Guns n' Roses)

• Mindi Abair

• Noelle Scaggs

• Stephen Marley

• Regina Spektor

• Rita Ora

• War on Drugs

 

The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition, formed in 2017, is a non-profit dedicated to building universal music education participation in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. It is a coalition of over 40 non-profit music education organizations and philanthropies that gathers academics, philanthropists, educators, artists and parents to work together to create dynamic, diverse communities to create and sustain music education.

 

More Information:

grammymusiced.org