The Burbank Unified School District recognized the Music Is Instrumental campaign at the Burbank Board of Education meeting on Thursday, June 7, and lauded the work of its many supporters, which helped the campaign exceed its first-year goal.
Headed by Peggy Flynn, Arts and Career Technical Education Coordinator for BUSD, the Music Is Instrumental campaign and final concert utilized efforts from those in the Burbank and greater Los Angeles community to raise approximately $127,000 during the 2017-18 school year.
Since October 2017, Music Is Instrumental has been working to raise 1.2 million dollars, at a pace of $120,000 per year over 10 years, to repair and replace musical instruments used by students at the District’s three middle schools and two high schools.
The campaign culminated in a powerful performance on Friday, May 11, combining the efforts of Burbank Unified’s vocal and instrumental high school music groups and their professional musician mentors from the Musicians At Play Foundation.
The performance set a standard for future collaborations between the high school students and their mentors.
“Between ticket sales, donations and auction items, the event by itself raised approximately $13,000,” explained Cindy Pease, Managing Director of Musicians at Play Foundation. “Some of that was donations made to directly purchase instruments.”
“Don and April [Williams, of Musicians At Play] spent many hours recruiting the musicians and coordinating the schedules, auditions and getting the music donated,” Pease added.
“With BUSD, MAP is establishing protocols and a working model to perpetuate this program in order to establish ongoing performances and to create sustainable revenue for music education in schools. This would include vocal programs and more training for middle schools that feed into high school.”
“Peggy Flynn from BUSD worked tirelessly to make this happen as she works nonstop to build career training programs in the arts to also include theater tech, film and animation,” Pease also said. “This partnership prepare students for careers in the entertainment industry which is a big part of the Burbank community.”
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger donated $25,000 to the Music Is Instrumental campaign, which was also supported by the L.A. County Arts Commission and the Burbank Arts For All Foundation.
The 1000 for $100 Committee, led by teacher Linda Walmsley and local businessmen Michael Hastings and Michael Cusumano, raised a large amount of money through direct donations.
“I am once again in awe of the support we receive from our community for the arts,” commented Superintendent Dr. Matt Hill. “This campaign has shown the power of individuals working together to support our students.”
With a new school year beginning in a few short months, the Music Is Instrumental campaign is focused on the future and resetting anew for 2018-19.
