HALFWAY, MO – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation purchased brand new percussion instruments for the music program at Halfway Junior Senior High School! “My students are very hardworking kids who come primarily from families that work in the farming industry,” Mrs. Geneva Edwards explains. “Many of these kids work hard at home helping their families and work equally hard in our athletics department. I am trying to spark a bigger interest in developing their musical talent.” Mrs. Edwards teaches a wide range of music courses for the school. She is responsible for the High School Choir, 7th and 8th Grade Music Appreciation, Guitar Instruction, Piano Instruction, Elementary Music, and all the Advanced Choirs as well. Just a few weeks ago, her choir program was rated a “1” Rating at the Fair Grove Music Festival! Because of her versatility, students at Halfway are more likely to have a grasp on interdisciplinary music theory. Diversity and inclusion is everything! “We have recently added ukuleles, and they have been a huge success. I am hoping that if we improve our percussion & world instrument inventory, we can get some interest sparked in developing an instrumental program. I KNOW that it would be a tremendous asset for building a music community!” she adds. “By gaining some extremely cool percussion instruments and implementing world drum circles, I can spark a tremendous desire [and confidence] in my students to know that THEY CAN become talented instrumentalists! They are such good and caring kids! I already have them singing and dancing beautifully! World percussion instruments will start a fire in them musically that could really get my dream instrumental program off the ground!” This past year, Halfway was granted ten ukuleles. “The students’ talent was very apparent, and after they experience how much fun world percussion can be, their hunger to play instruments will be limitless!” she exclaims. Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like YOU, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation was able to fund Mrs. Edwards’ music project. KTBA will supply Halfway Junior Senior High School with new percussion instruments to expand their music program and encourage cultural diversity among them. Mrs. Edwards expresses her gratitude: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., Thank you so very much for your generosity! My students will be thrilled beyond words to receive these wonderful instruments. I will joyfully prepare all summer to implement and highlight these instruments within our entire K-12 program. We have been greatly blessed by your gift. I can hardly wait to share your gift and in return share the pictures and cards from the students to you showing the tremendous impact this will have on our program. What a BLESSING!!! THANK YOU!!!!! With gratitude, Mrs. Edwards Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation is a 501c3 organization that makes a donation to a school in need of music instruments, supplies, sheet music, and more every week! Your donation helps us to keep music in schools, while preserving blues heritage. Without your support, we would not be able to reach as many students around the country. We are grateful for your generosity. To date, KTBA has reached over 60,000 students. If you would like to help us to continue to grow, click here to make a donation! All donations are fully tax-deductible! Thank you for keeping music education in schools!

Independence, M.O – Thanks to your donations this week, Keeping The Blues Alive started the year off well, by providing a keyboard pack for Benton Elementary School. Ms. Wehrman is sponsoring an after-school music class for the young students at her elementary school. “My students live in poverty with nearly a 90% free and reduced lunch rate. They do not have the ability to afford piano lessons. So many of them long to take lessons, but often turn away devastated when they discover there is a fee. My kids love music and would benefit greatly from taking this love to a higher level. Group piano lessons will give these students an opportunity they would ordinarily not receive.” The students will sign up on a first come, first serve basis for an after school club. This club will rotate quarterly to accommodate as many students as possible. The students will each have their own keyboard to practice on during the clubs with headphones so as to not interrupt other students while practicing. As the students learn and perform a song, either for the teacher or group as a whole, they will receive stickers showing they passed the song. The club will culminate in a recital showing graduation from the program. Students who show a continuing desire to learn can apply for a scholarship for continued lessons. “Donations will help my students have an opportunity that currently eludes them. These piano lessons will help train their brains to utilize both hemispheres at the same time, thus improving brain functions. These skills will transfer to other academic areas as well as encourage confidence in working towards a goal. The students will learn skills that will stay with them for life.” As a result of the donations received, her project was funded! Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Today was our first day back to school after break, and this gift kicked off the new semester in a marvelous way for all of us.My students beg for piano lessons on a weekly basis, but their families simply cannot afford them. These resources will open a door to my students to have the opportunity to take group piano lessons for free in a safe, after-school environment. I can hardly wait for this club to begin, hopefully later this month!As you know, music helps build creativity and critical thinking for students. It can also provide structure to their lives and give them a goal to work to achieve. Your generosity will help my students today, tomorrow, and forever. With gratitude, Ms. Wehrman

KTBA Donates Fresh Books! st louis, mo – What a fantastic week for Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation!  With everyone purchasing Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea cabins and purchasing tickets for the big show at Red Rocks, we have been quite busy! Click here to purchase tickets for KTBA Presents Joe Bonamassa Live! at Red Rocks Ampitheatre: a Tribute to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf!  Along the way, we were able to make a really great donation to the Shaw Visual & Performing Arts School (SVPAS) in St. Louis! According to Mrs. Kramkowski, SVPAS is the only elementary school in their school district to offer band AND string orchestra. Their students do receive school instruments to use, however, they are in desperate need of supplement materials and new books.  The books they use currently are raggedy, hand-me-down books that relay outdated information.  After a little research, Mrs. Kramkowski decided to put together an offer for the Sound Innovations program from Alfred. The Sound Innovations program is an innovative program that not only helps students grasp music concepts through extensive visual methods, but also contains tools for parents to be able to assist them with their homework as well.  No more excuses for parents to say “I never studied this, so I have no idea how to help them.” As the teachers prepare for summer, you – the donors – and Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation have given a new lease on music education for a proud music program of 75 students in Missouri. Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, I was soo excited to get the news today that the project was complete funded. It made my rough day so much better. I am so glad we will be able to start the school year out with a new book and new curriculum. The students will be so excited! Now I have something to do over summer break (as if I didn’t already have enought). Plan with our new books for the 2014-2015 school year! It will be so nice have fresh books that don’t need to be erased over the summer and taped. Thank you again! With gratitude, Mrs. Kramkowski Even as teachers prepare for summer break and fall lesson plans, we are constantly finding ways to promote music education in school curricula. Thank you for your help in keeping music education in schools! We would not be able to do this without you!