Instruments For Education 1st Annual Instrument Drive and Fundraiser
Listening Room Cafe, November 15, 2018
Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny Schick is a Music Producer, engineer, singer songwriter & professional photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA) (see more photos here)
I was lucky to be in school at a time when music and art programs were considered main staples of education—the schools I attended in California had pretty darn good instruments for music students to use, and most families, mine included, had the ability to rent or buy instruments for their kids. This access to instruments not only made it pretty easy for me to pursue my passion (my music), but could be a large part of the equation that led me down the path to a life in music. My parents were even able to float me loans(with 1% interest, just to teach me about finances..haha) which I paid back with my paper route money.
I never had kids, but I’ve watched my friend’s children attend schools where the music and art programs are being stripped back, or even eliminated from curriculum—this is a damn shame, as music and the arts are every bit as important to human development as math, science, history, or english. It is creativity and learning how to implement it that leads to some of the biggest accomplishments for humanity—even in aspects of life that have nothing to do with music or art. Developing a creative mind is essential to success in life, and as a former private music teacher, I have seen this concept at work. I even helped run a friend’s company that used music as a tool for corporate team building workshops, and we saw the method ignite a lot of fire at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies.
Here in Nashville, we have a knight in shining armor by the name of (Sir) Troy Castellano, and he has started a non-profit here to help counteract the trend of struggling music programs in our local schools—it is called Instruments For Education. It’s mission: “To collect and distribute used and unused musical instruments and provide them to classrooms that may not otherwise have it in their budget to purchase instruments. Allowing upcoming generations a hands on way to learn to play a musical instrument(s).” Troy even goes so far as to drive around picking up instruments himself and fixing them if need be. He has a music store in Spring Hill TN(Bluesman Vintage) that does repairs that he can’t handle himself.
Last night, I attended a great event at the Listening Room Cafe here in Nashville—It was Instruments For Education’s First Annual Instrument Drive and Fundraiser. 24 of Nashville’s best song writers volunteered their time and gave us a killer night of intimate performances, backed by the awesome steel guitar player Smith Curry see the list of performers below. Proceeds from the show went to Instruments For Education, and I believe even some instruments were donated.
In a city called Music City, it is great that we have someone like Troy who supports the very thing this city is known for and helps to make sure future generations keep the roots and lifeblood of this city alive.
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