Contact: Victoria Lanier
For Immediate Release
Phone: (818) 433-7600
Email: press@etmla.org / Website: www.etmla.org
LOS ANGELES, CA – On January 24, singer-songwriter Judith Hill (The Voice, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder) brought her immense talent to an enthusiastic audience of 5th graders at Normandie Elementary in Los Angeles. The students enjoyed a special performance and Q&A session with Ms. Hill, who spoke about her musical upbringing, her time on the popular TV show “The Voice” and unique mentorships with legendary musicians like Prince and Michael Jackson.
Ms. Hill’s appearance both inspired and excited the students, and she generously gave autographs and posed for photos even on her way leaving the school! Dania (5th grade) shared, “She inspired me to be a singer because I love how beautiful it sounds. When I grow up, I want to be a singer just like her.” Fellow 5th grader, Naomi, followed with: “I like how she told her story…[which] inspires me to do anything I want to do. I’d like to be a singer or a doctor.”
Prior to the grade-wide assembly in the school auditorium, Ms. Hill visited a classroom of students learning ukulele, led by ETM-LA Music Teacher and Coordinator Erik Garcia, and was treated to a jam session of “Put the Lime in the Coconut.” After class, she gave some heartfelt words of advice to the kids: “I went to school and I had a music teacher, and I looked forward to it so much – it really inspired me to continue on and do music professionally. Treasure your time here with Mr. Garcia. It’s a special thing. Grow with your passion, practice your instruments and follow your heart with what you love and you can take over the world.”
View photos from the event here.
Now in in its 12th year, ETM-LA has expanded from 2 schools and 800 children to a planned 30 schools and approximately 15,000 schoolchildren with weekly music as part of the core curriculum in such diverse communities as Burbank, Compton, Chinatown, Downtown LA, East Los Angeles, Pacoima, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, South Central, and West Los Angeles.
Education Through Music-Los Angeles is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit with the mission to provide music in disadvantaged schools to enhance students’ academic achievement and creative and overall development. ETM-LA partners with inner-city schools to provide yearlong music instruction for every child in the school and is based on the ETM® model (New York, 1991). For more info: www.etmla.org