NAMM Foundation Kicks Off the School Year with SupportMusic Community Forums

The NAMM Foundation kicks off the school year with coast-to-coast SupportMusic community forums to raise awareness about the importance of music and arts education. With The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus acting as a mobile ambassador for music education, the forums will stage in U.S. cities this fall.  Events will be held at high schools in Lansing, MI, Indianapolis, IN, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, PA where parents, teachers and community leaders will gather to celebrate and promote music education.

“The NAMM Foundation is hitting the road with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus in key communities to communicate the value and benefits of music education,” said Mary Luehrsen, executive director, NAMM Foundation. “These forums will engage community decision makers in positive and impactful conversations about the importance of music for all children and bolster goals to expand access to music education for all children. The John Lennon Bus illustrates this point – that music education is accessible, constructive and influential in the lives of students. Together, we can keep music education strong for all students!”

In each of the cities, area schools, NAMM Member retailers and SupportMusic Coalition partners, will join the NAMM Foundation as hosts of keynote presentations and panel discussions. Student performances and John Lennon Educational Tour Bus tours will round out the events. Music lovers, music-education leaders and technophiles are welcome to tour the bus, a non-profit, state-of-the-art mobile Pro Audio and HD video recording facility that provides hands-on musical experiences for students and music lovers of all ages.

"Our mission is to provide hands-on education programs to students across the country," said Brian Rothschild, executive director of the John Lennon Bus. “In our travels across the country, we see first hand the vital importance of what the NAMM Foundation and SupportMusic are doing.  We're thrilled to be part of this program."

Panel discussions featuring education influencers and music professionals will focus on the importance of and ways to ensure that music education becomes and remains part of the core curriculum. The events will also equip communities with SupportMusic Coalition advocacy tools to strengthen music education programs. The SupportMusic Coalition unites 5,500 national, regional and international organizations and business working to improve access and opportunity in music and arts learning. Tens of thousands of music education advocates visit SupportMusic.com every month for resources designed to help keep music education strong in their schools and communities.

The SupportMusic Coalition tour kicked off September 10 in California at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music. Upcoming SupportMusic Community Forums are confirmed for Indianapolis Sept. 25, Lansing Sept. 30, Pittsburgh Oct. 3, and Philadelphia Oct. 4. For further information visit www.supportmusic.com

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. www.nammfoundation.org

About The Lennon Bus
The Lennon Bus is made possible by Yoko Ono Lennon and many generous sponsors that can be found listed here.