NAMM Members Advocate for Music Education in Washington, D.C.

On Capitol Hill, NAMM delegates thank Congress for the passage of ESSA and re-enforce importance of law and its inclusion of music education for all children

2016 Fly In Group Pic
Carlsbad, CA

Last week, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), along with 91 music industry leaders and artists made up a delegation of advocates furthering the case that all children deserve quality, comprehensive school music education programs during the NAMM Music Education Advocacy D.C. Fly-In (May 23-26, 2016). The delegation participated in various events to reinforce the importance of music being listed as part of a well-rounded education for all children.

The Advocacy week began on Monday, May 23 with a Day of Service. Members from the group, including New York Yankee-turned Latin GRAMMY-nominated guitarist Bernie Williams, donated musical instruments and accessories and provided three hours of music education taught by master teachers on drum, ukulele and guitar lessons to 75 students at D.C.’s Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. Located in the D.C. suburb of Anacostia, the school has seen participation numbers steadily rise since the inception of the band program in 2015. That same evening, The NAMM Foundation awarded the SupportMusic Champion Award to Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) (see release here). The award was given in recognition of the Senator’s long history in music education advocacy and comes on the heels of the historic passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a bill introduced by Senator Alexander and signed into law by President Obama in 2015. The passage of ESSA is the first federal law to provide a framework for access to music and arts education for every student.

On Tuesday, the delegation prepared for its efforts on Capitol Hill by participating in advocacy training at Nelson Mullins, during which the music industry leaders were apprised of current issues facing public school music programs and briefed on ESSA. The delegates were also trained on developing state-level advocacy efforts for music and arts education to put into practice in their respective states.

That evening, a special reception was held for the Turnaround Arts, a program under the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. During the reception, a variety of artists were honored, including Citizen Cope, Carla Dirlikov, Paula Fuga, Keb’ Mo’, Tim Robbins, Bernie Williams, Alfre Woodard, John Lloyd Young, among others, for their work in arts education advocacy, of which, music education is a core topic. Each artist was recognized with a SupportMusic Award from The NAMM Foundation for his or her support of this effort. An impromptu jam session featured the likes of Hawaiian soul singer, Paula Fuga, Keb’ Mo’, Bernie Williams, Citizen Cope and many NAMM members on a variety of instruments to serve as the house band (see release here).

On Wednesday, the delegation took to Capitol Hill for over 150 meetings with members of Congress and/or staff about the importance of music education and the support needed to insure that each student has the opportunity to learn music in school. Later that evening, a reception was held in the U.S. Capitol.

The week was closed out by two SupportMusic calls, including one featuring the newly appointed Secretary of Education, John B. King. On Thursday, Secretary King joined NAMM executive director of public affairs, Mary Luehrsen for the SupportMusic Coalition webinar. The live call included a discussion about the new federal education law, ESSA and its goals for all children to receive a well-rounded education.

Participating members of the NAMM Delegation included:

Alfred Music Publishing
All County Music
American Music and Sound
Antonio Violins
Benedetto Guitar
Blues Angel Music, Inc
Brass Bell Music Store
Brighton Music Center
Buddy Roger's Music
C.F. Martin & Co., Inc.
Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center
Conn-Selmer
Connolly Music Company
Contemporary Music Center
Country Music Association
Creative Music Center
Fox Music House
Full Compass Systems
Gator Co.
Greenblum & Bernstein, PLC
Groth Music
Hal Leonard Corporation
High Strung Violins & Guitars
Hunter Music Instrument Inc.
Jordan Kitt's Music
Kala Brand Music Co.
Keyboard Concepts
KHS America
Korg USA
Kraft Music
Kretzer Piano
Live Music Tutor
Marshall Music
Menchey Music Service
Meyer Music
Middle C Music
Monster Music
Music & Arts
Music Education Consultants, Inc.
Musical Innovations
Musician & Former New York Yankee
NOVA Music Center
Paige's Music
Pritchard Music
Progressive Music
Quadrant Research
Remo Inc.
Rick's Musical Instruments, Inc.
Rockley Music Center
RS Berkeley
Sabian
San Diego Music Studio
SBO Magazine/TI:ME
Spicer's Music
Steinway Piano Gallery - Bonita Springs
The Candyman Strings & Things
The Magic Fluke Co
The Music & Sound Retailer
Turnaround Arts
University of South Carolina
VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Wayne's Music World
West Music
Yamaha Corporation of America

To view images from the Fly-In, please view the links below:

MONDAY, MAY 23

NAMM Day of Service for Music Education with Bernie Williams

The NAMM Foundation/Sen. Lamar Alexander with the SupportMusic Champion Award

TUESDAY, MAY 24

NAMM Turnaround Arts Artist Reception

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

NAMM, CMA and VH1 Music Advocacy Day

White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show

CMA, NAMM, VH1 Congressional Reception for Music Education

Photo credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images for NAMM


Media Contacts
NAMM Communications - John Dolak, Director
johnd@namm.org
619.735.4028

The Lippin Group for NAMM
namm@lippingroup.com
201.317.6618

About NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $19.5 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of 15,400 global member companies and individual professionals with a global workforce of over 475,000 employees. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation's efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music and advance active participation in music-making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit www.namm.org.