The NAMM Foundation Awards More Than $1.1 Million to Worthy Music Organizations and Research Projects

NAMM, the trade association of the international music products association, today announced the 26 recipients of The NAMM Foundation's 2008–2009 grants program, allocating more than $1.1 million in funding to support community music-making programs, scientific research on the effects of making music, and music programs for seniors and school-aged children.

The new grants, while only a small portion of NAMM's overall annual multimillion-dollar-reinvestment into the music products industry, serve an important function by enabling worthy organizations to operate programs designed to increase interest and participation in making music, as well as helping leading universities better understand the outcomes of making music for people of all ages. This important music-brain research continues to help the industry strengthen its marketing messages for why more people should play music.

During the recent NAMM Board of Directors meeting, the following programs received approval:

2008–2009 NAMM Foundation Program Grants

NAMM Foundation Program Grants support innovative community-based music learning programs for people of all ages and abilities.

American String Teachers Association
NAMM funding supports the implementation of the American String Teachers Association's program, "Increasing Access to Strings," a pilot project introducing and promoting strings to students in schools with diverse populations who are typically underserved by arts education programs.
www.astaweb.com

Blue Bear School of Music
NAMM funding supports the Blue Bear School of Music's STAR Program, which brings a classroom-based band ensemble and the after-school program, Studio 101, to public middle schools in the San Francisco Bay area.
www.bluebearmusic.org

Bread and Roses
NAMM funding supports Bread and Roses' ongoing Youth Outreach Initiative, reaching 6,800 children and teens in the San Francisco Bay area through high-quality interactive music-making programs with youth who are chronically ill or otherwise in need.
www.breadandroses.org

Coalition for Music Education in Canada
NAMM funding supports the expansion of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada's “Music Monday” program, engaging thousands of music makers of all ages to experience and understand music's vital role in school and in life.
www.weallneedmusic.ca

Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association
NAMM funding supports the expansion of the Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association's Teacher Guitar Workshop program into more communities, and additionally provides advanced training for those already involved in the program. Teacher Training Programs will also expand into Canada.
www.discoverguitar.com

Guitars in the Classroom
NAMM funding supports Guitars in the Classroom's new program “The AMIGO Project: Achievement through Music Integration,” which introduces music making to California educators whose K-6 general classrooms include more than 27 percent Hispanic students who are English-language learners.
www.guitarsintheclassroom.com

Levine School of Music
NAMM funding supports the Levine School of Music's multiple recreational music programs for seniors 55 years and older, offered daily under the title “A Little Day Music.”
www.levineschool.org

Little Kids Rock, Inc.
NAMM funding supports the launch of Little Kids Rock's program “Songwriting Video Curriculum,” providing video-based lessons that will complement their current print-based resources and enhance their offerings in guitar, keyboard, drum and bass for elementary-aged students.
www.littlekidsrock.org

Merit School of Music
NAMM funding supports the Merit School of Music's Band Builders initiative, which enriches band programs in Merit's Bridges sites with in-school and after-school music instruction.
www.meritmusic.org

Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation
NAMM funding supports the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation's “Special Projects” program, which helps after-school programs, community schools of the arts, youth orchestras and qualified music therapy programs, all assisting underserved youth primarily attending Title 1 schools.
www.mhopus.org

Music For All (U.K.)
NAMM funding supports the expansion of Music For All's (U.K.) “Learn to Play” program into schools. Trained instructors will travel to as many as 30 schools for 2–3 days each, providing introductory lessons.
www.mia.org.uk

National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts
NAMM funding supports the expansion of the National Guild's “Creative Aging Initiative,” increasing the number of active music makers and artists among Americans aged 65+.
www.nationalguild.org

National Piano Foundation
NAMM funding supports the expansion of the National Piano Foundation's Recreational Music Making Piano project, training piano instructors to establish new informal learning methodologies for teaching recreational students.
www.pianonet.com

National String Project Consortium
NAMM funding supports the expansion of the National String Project Consortium's “Creating and Sustaining Four String Projects” program, addressing the shortage of qualified stringed instrument teachers.
www.stringprojects.org

New Horizons International Music Association
NAMM funding supports the launch of New Horizons' "Lift-Off" project that will help establish 16 New Horizons bands, orchestras or choruses in the United States and Canada. Each group will create an environment for older adults to start—or resume—group music making.
www.newhorizonsmusic.org

North Shore Boys & Girls Club
NAMM funding supports the North Shore Boys & Girls Club's “Rock Lobster Monthly Band Night” program, providing youth with a unique music-making venue that encourages bands to perform by offering an accessible, free and safe venue where they can practice, gain stage experience, be mentored and even develop a following for their music.
www.nsbgc.org

Percussion Marketing Council
NAMM funding supports the expansion of Percussion Marketing Council's signature school percussion programs, “Roots of Rhythm” program and the Percussion in the Schools assembly program.
www.rootsofrhythm.net or www.playdrums.com

Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls
NAMM funding supports the Girls Rock Institute's program, providing girls in Portland, Oregon, a place to learn an instrument, form a band, write an original song and perform in front of an audience.
www.girlsrockcamp.org

Technology Institute for Music Educators
NAMM funding supports the expansion of TI:ME's current multimedia project, which trains teachers to use the multimedia lesson plans in their schools and adds new materials to their Connect with Music Web site.
www.ti-me.org

VSA Arts
NAMM funding supports the establishment of a task force and new program “Sustaining Music Making for People with Disabilities.” VSA Arts brings a variety of active arts experiences to people with disabilities nationwide.
www.vsarts.org

Walla Walla Symphony
NAMM funding supports the Walla Walla Symphony's Community Instrument Lending Library program, serving lower-income youth in a 10,000-square-mile agricultural region of southeastern Washington state.
www.wwsymphony.org

NAMM Foundation Research Grants provide support for projects that explore the impact of active participation during various stages of life and on human experience and conditions. Grants are made in three research-funding areas, as follows:

2008–2009 NAMM Foundation Scientific Grants

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Human Division & Family Studies
Title: The Effects of Musical Instrument Instruction on Executive Functioning in Young Children

Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Title: Evaluating the Impact of Music Video Games on Musical Skill Development

2008–2009 NAMM Foundation Sounds of Living Grants

University of Iowa
Title: New Horizons for Older Adults: Relationships Between Leisure Music Making, Social Engagement and Quality of Life

2008–2009 NAMM Foundation Sounds of Learning Grants

University of Kansas
Title: Galvanizing Factors of Communities Chosen to Be One of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education

University of Colorado, School of Public Affairs
Title: Money for Music: The Real Cost and Benefits of K–12 Music Education

For more information about the NAMM Foundation's Program Grants, please e-mail grants@namm.org.

About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs from the international music products industry. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit
www.nammfoundation.org.