FAIRMONT, NC – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation donated brand new woodwind instruments including two (2) saxophones, one (1) clarinet, and one (1) flute to the music program at Fairmont Middle School! ***UPDATE 2/4/2020 Ms. Foxworth, music director at Fairmont Middle School has a wonderful update for us regarding the new instruments we donated back in September 2019! Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., This school year has been amazing so far. Thanks to your generous contribution, there are enough instruments for all the students that are in the program. These instruments are being shared among the students and will continue to be used by future students for years to come. Music is a means of expression for a number of my students. Your donation has given them an opportunity to be a part of an organization that can open so many doors and serve them in immeasurable ways as they advance in life. These students will be able to compete with other musicians for once in a life time opportunities and performers at various locations. The students have done two parades this semester and a winter concert. Next semester the students in the program will put on a Black History Month concert, spring concert, parade and they are also going to play at a professional hockey game. This would not be possible without your help. On behalf of myself and my students I would like to say thank you. We are grateful and it has truly been a blessing to see them grow in the last few months. They appreciate music class even more now that they know that there are people out there who will invest in their interest. You have changed lives and again thank you. With gratitude, Ms. Foxworth _________ “[Currently,] my students enter the world of music each time they enter our music room,” states Ms. Cherelle Foxworth. She is a first-year band director from Fayetteville State University. “The students in my class are resilient and nothing short of amazing having gone through two natural disasters in two years. They continue to amaze me in their ability to spread joy, pride, and camaraderie throughout the community when they perform. I am proud of each and every one of them. They have taught me that music is an outlet that is far more powerful then I could have ever imagined. Despite the hardships that they have faced in the recent years, these students continue to push and give me their all in the classroom. I am thankful that I am their teacher because they are all true inspirations.” Nearly all of the students attending Fairmont Middle School come from low-income households. For them, music is not only an elective in their class schedules, it is a gateway of opportunity and an outlet for expression and creativity. By helping the band program to expand its instrumentation, the students will enjoy more variety and diversity within the repertoire. The woodwinds are an essential component of band literature. “The students in the music program are phenomenal at making music and these instruments will [also] boost their confidence. This year, the students will have the opportunity to play out of state and these instruments would help improve the overall sound.” Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like you, Ms. Foxworth will receive new instruments for her band program. At least 50 students will benefit from these school-owned instruments and they will be encouraged to keep music as a part of their daily lives forever! Keeping the Blues Alive 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 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 66,000 students by sponsoring over 400 various music projects! 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 supporting music education for the next generation!

VALE, NORTH CAROLINA – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation donated a dozen brand new mini-keyboards to the music students at Banoak Elementary School! “I am so grateful to work with a group of students that are well-behaved and come to class ready to soak up any knowledge and skills I can teach them!” Ms. Holman explains. “Given the opportunity and resources, my students could personally exceed beyond their normal expectations and enhance their musical abilities to the fullest learning to play the piano. When I was six years old, I took piano lessons for a year!” Research has shown that exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Additionally, dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. (© 2015 Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization). “The music reading skills and experience I gained from that year followed me all the way into my adult life and helped me be able to be ahead of the game when I started playing trumpet in middle school,” she adds. “It’s one of the many things that helped shape my talents and led me into a career into music education.” Ms. Holman hopes to give all of her students the same head start into music that she once had by providing  exceptional music instruction on the piano. These pianos will allow her the ability to teach multiple students at the same time, just like any other piano class in today’s more modern piano labs.  “It’s proven that using both sides of the brain to read and perform music improves the brain’s learning and reasoning capabilities. The addition of keyboards to my school will not only allow growth in music, but growth in learning ability as well. Learning to play the piano will transfer over into their overall music experience and the lessons learned will apply to all instruments. Students will use these pianos to play individual pieces of music, accompany songs as a class, and perform for their peers, parents, and the community. Having pianos will tie all the music learning in our class into one place with one instrument. Students will learn how to read rhythms, notes on the staff, and how to confidently perform.” Thanks to the donations of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like YOU, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation funded Ms. Holman’s project. Keyboards will be delivered in a week! Ms. Holman expresses her gratitude: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., Thank you so much for funding my project. I was literally screaming with excitement for my students as they have been asking me all year to learn to play the piano. I’ve been playing since age 6 and can not wait to pass on this knowledge and ability to them. Nothing can ever replace putting an instrument in a child’s hands and teaching them to perform. I can’t thank you enough. With gratitude, Ms. Holman 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 62,000 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!

KTBA Donates Percussion Mallets to Middle School Music Program School Name – Bessemer City Middle School Teacher Name: Ms. Cline BESSEMER CITY, NC – Thanks to your donations, KTBA donated 32 pairs of percussion mallets to the music students at Bessemer City Middle School! Every percussion section is a treasure chest. From tambourines, to shakers, pitched instruments such as the xylophone, low end from bass drums – they all work together to being stability to the band. However, when pitched instruments are involved, players must choose which mallet produces the best attack for the musical moment. Up until this donation, the color palette for a Bessemer City Middle School percussion student was forcibly dark and cold. With only a few sad mallets to choose from, discouragement set in and painted a gloomy picture for their audience. “Each student at our school has to struggle in some way to get through their day,” Ms. Cline explains. Ms. Cline teaches band at Bessemer City Middle. “All students are provided free breakfast and lunch and many of them do not have the luxury of a stable home life. I have some kids that come to my classroom in clothes that don’t fit, without jackets, without backpacks, and without basic school supplies because they simply cannot afford it. Although they do not have these basic tools, each child still comes into my class with a desire to create something of their own. Much like us adults, my students want to make their mark on something whether that be in mechanics, medicine, art, engineering, or music. Each of them strive and work towards their own goals and it is my job to help facilitate that drive.” Ms. Cline started a fundraiser for her school to raise the funds needed to purchase new percussion mallets. However, according to Ms. Cline, the impact of this donation reaches much deeper than the surface repertoire and instrumentation. “Middle school is a place in students’ lives where they are exploring new and foreign things that they haven’t experienced before. They are branching out and trying new things through their classes and are being handed so many opportunities to learn exciting concepts. These students are yearning for [hands-on] activities that allow them to play and create their own music. So often, our students complain about how school is boring because they have to sit all day but it shouldn’t always be that way. Music should be a classroom where kids get to explore different sounds and styles in a way that they do not experience in their other courses. With the proper materials, students can learn through aural and kinesthetic avenues – branching out their minds and their musical experiences. They need to be able to feel music in their palms and see it come to life. Mallets give students a way to feel the difference between loud and soft by how hard they strike, to see that a ‘G’ is lower than an ‘A’, and encourages the strengthening of motor skills as their brains develop. They can experiment with improvisation activities on familiar songs and with different tempos but none of that is possible if they cannot hear what they are playing. Mallets are a necessity in the general music classroom and we are doing students a disservice if we cannot provide them with a way to experience music with their bodies as well as their minds.” We couldn’t agree with Ms. Cline more. Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like YOU, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation was able to fund Ms. Cline’s music project. Dozens of new percussion mallets will fill up the percussion section and give students the hands-on learning experience that they deserve. Ms. Cline expresses her gratitude: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., I wanted to express my great appreciation for your donations to this classroom. There is nothing more disappointing than handing students an instrument and them telling them that they have to use a pencil to try and play it. These mallets will give students the ability to really experience how instruments are supposed to sound and be played. We are in the process of composing short songs which will truly come to life when played with new mallets. I cannot wait to share pictures of the excitement and musicality that will come from these tools that you have provided for us! You have shown such generosity and support and it does not go unnoticed, thank you. With gratitude, Ms. Cline 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!  

Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation Donates Euphonium to Middle School Band Program Mrs. Bolder – Union Prep Academy at Indian Trail   INDIAN TRAIL, NC – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation donated a brand new euphonium to students in the Union Prep Academy music program! Union Prep Academy is a tuition-free public charter school located 16 miles southeast of Charlotte, NC. The instruments requested are needed to expand the program without costing the school several thousand dollars. “They are very expensive and have to be purchased at full price,” Mrs. Bolder explains. “These instruments are not offered as rental instruments by music companies. They are too expensive for parents to purchase, unlike beginning band instruments. It is up to the school to purchase them. [However,] our school is a new charter school entering it’s third year and funding is low.” The large percussion and low wind instruments needed at Union Prep are the key to a full mature sounding symphonic band. “You see, beginning bands use only the basic 5 or 6 basic instruments; flute, clarinet, alto sax, trumpet, and trombone (sometimes snare drum and bells)” she explains. “Most parents can afford to rent the beginning band instruments. However, intermediate and advanced bands have a more mature sound because of the large percussion and large low wind instruments that are incorporated. Composers write music for/increase the number of instruments in their songs for more advanced bands. We want to build and have an outstanding competitive band program. But, we can’t attend MPA’s (statewide adjudicated or judged performances), and other music festivals without the low instruments that would give us the full symphonic band sound. The only large percussion and low wind instruments we have right now are a bass drum, one tuba, one euphonium, and on bass clarinet. To balance the band out we need at least two of each of the low instruments (including bari-sax, and tenor sax).” Enrollment is definitely growing, however more than a third of the students come from low income households. This means that many of the instruments needed for their particular orchestration are simply not available. In spite of budget setbacks, the students are resilient and dedicated. “My students are middle school band students who love playing their instruments!” Mrs. Bolder exclaims. “When they could have chosen to take other electives, they chose band. Some of them enjoy coming to school because of band. They listen intently because they love learning to play their instruments. What I [also] love about my students is that they seem so happy all the time and are eager to learn! They come into the band room smiling in the morning when they drop off their instruments, smiling when they come to class, and smiling when they come to pick up their instruments in the afternoon so they can practice at home. I love it when they ask, ‘What’s our playing test song for this week?’ You’d think that they would hope I’d forget about the playing tests! My one bass clarinet player is so peppy and calls her instrument (owned by the school) her baby.” Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like you, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation was able to donate a brand new euphonium to the symphonic band. Every week, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation makes a donation to a school in need of music instruments, supplies, sheet music, and more! Your donation helps us to keep music in schools, while preserving blues heritage. If you would like to help us fund next week’s project, click here to make a donation! All donations are fully tax-deductible! Thank you for keeping music education in schools! Shawn Hagood for Keeping the Blues Alive

Ukulele Rock Stars! Shawn Hagood for Keeping the Blues Alive LUCAMA, NC – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation donated ten brand new Mitchell MU40 Soprano Ukuleles to students at Springfield Middle School! “My students are very eager to learn about all aspects of music!” Mrs. Honeycutt explains. “They are positive and very enthusiastic about learning music together in the class.” Typically, students that end up in Mrs. Honeycutt’s general music classes are students whose families cannot afford the luxury of purchasing new instruments.  They are not enrolled in a band class and often find it difficult to keep up with their peers. This is one of the many reasons KTBA funds ukulele projects. Their low cost allows teachers the flexibility of ordering by quantity without sacrificing quality. In this situation, everyone wins – especially the student.  Another reason is because of their portability. The ukes are lightweight and often come with small cases for easy transport.  Lastly, the ukulele is a 4-string instrument.  This means less strings per classroom and quicker tuning when you have 20-30 middle school students trying to get started as quick as possible! In the small town of Lucama, these instruments will mean a lot to the community. Local functions will require entertainment from the neighboring schools and musical techniques will be passed on from class to class. “I also plan on having the students perform what they learned on the ukulele for the student body,” Mrs. Honeycutt explains. “It is super awesome to learn something and actually be able to perform it for others! My students will have the opportunity to experience the benefits of actually performing something that they have learned. They will gain self confidence and learn how to process what it takes to present to others. Performance helps us with public speaking and other opportunities to present before others. I am super excited about making it available to all my students this year!” Springfield Middle School Testimonial: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., We are so very thankful for the ukulele instruments and books that were given to us through Donor’s Choose. The students at Springfield Middle are very excited about learning how to play the Ukulele. We are introducing the instrument to the students and they have nothing but smiles! For some of the students at our school this is the very first time they have ever held a stringed instrument. I remember as a child seeing a large upright bass and wanting to just touch it! We are beginning to master how to tune the instrument and make sure we are holding it correctly. The students have been so excited and their faces were full of joy when I showed them the instruments. They are very well prepared for class because we have the instruments and books. Some of them have been asking for weeks, “When are we going to start the ukulele, Mrs. Honeycutt?” It has been so fun giving them this opportunity to learn how to play it. We have been learning how to tune, hold and play our first few chords on the instrument. Our next goal is to be able to play a song from beginning to end with chord changes. We hope to be able to master changing chords without having to stop between them. This is a big goal and most likely will take us all year to master!  Thank you again for thinking of us and making this dream of mine a reality for our students! You have been such a huge blessing for our current students and for the future classes! With gratitude, Mrs. Honeycutt Thanks to Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like you, these kids will have an opportunity to learn ukulele fingerings as well as the culture they came from. Every week, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation makes a donation to music programs in need of music supplies, sheet music, and instruments. To help us fund next week’s project, click here!

This week’s donation story is about a school in Arden North Carolina whose music teacher, Mrs. Huntsinger, wanted to create a music curriculum in supplement of the reading program! We loved this story because it proves that it truly takes a village to raise a child – and in the case of music education in schools across America, it takes a strong unity amongst school faculty to have a successful music program.  The students will have a much more balanced learning experience, and the subject areas will begin to compliment each other. Mrs. H explains, “We, as teachers, seek to use every opportunity to teach reading, writing, math and other core subjects. As a music teacher, I want to assist in this process and yet continue to teach music as well. These 12 books about the music of Brahms and Clara Schumann, books about different instruments, books about shapes in music, jazz music and other books about the job of just making music are key in that process.” This class project was critical to ensure a successful integration of special needs students in the regular classroom and to expand all of her  students’ exposure to musical concepts and great composers throughout history.  The classroom was full of eager youngsters who were creative and assertive.  Some of the students had physical and mental disabilities. After reading about this school, we decided to contribute to her fundraiser.  Because of our supporters, these class projects are hands-on ways that we can impact many schools across the country – not just the ones with extraordinary talent and resources!  We believe that every child matters! Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation – thanks so much for your support of music education. Gaining a love for music in elementary school can give my students a love of music for their lifetime. Thank you so much for investing in them. My students will be so excited to learn more about drums and percussion, more about Clara Schumann and so many other books which allow me to integrate reading into my music classes. It is really exciting to have some new materials. I can hardly wait to share them! With gratitude, Mrs. H – Glen Arden Elementary School If you would like to help us fund the next music project, please consider making a donation today! If you would like to look up the book titles for YOUR classroom or child, check out the list below: Just a Little Music AKJ Books       The Whales” Song Dyan Sheldon, Gary Blythe (Illustrator) AKJ Books       Drums, Keyboards, and Other Instruments AKJ Books       Drums and Percussion Instruments AKJ Books       Jungle Drums AKJ Books       Clara Schumann AKJ Books       Brahms Ann Rachlin AKJ Books       Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings AKJ Books       A Chorus of Frogs: The Risky Life of an Ancient Amphibian AKJ Books       Horace and Morris Join the Chorus (but What about Dolores?) AKJ Books       Band Of Angels AKJ Books       Junie B., One-Man Band AKJ Books       Thank you for helping us keep music programs thriving in schools!