Contact: Katie Boone
Phone: (818) 433-7600
Email: press@etmla.org
Website: www.etmla.org
On January 15, pianist/composer Jeff Babko (Julio Iglesias, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor) paid a special visit to students at ETM-LA partner school Dolores Mission School in Boyle Heights, helping to launch their new music technology lab with KORG Education.
Dolores Mission is the third ETM-LA partner school to collaborate with KORG Education by receiving a tech lab, consisting of KORG keyboards and controllers as a basis to teach music composition and production. Babko spoke to the students about his music background and career, and shared that he wanted to be a musician from a very early age. He gave an honest perspective of the perks and challenges of the music industry, and inspired the class by expressing his passion and gratitude for his profession.
Babko, a native of Southern California, is an in-demand recording musician and touring keyboardist, having worked with a range of renowned artists such as Jason Mraz, Frank Ocean, and Smokey Robinson. He is also currently the touring musical director and accompanist for comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin. In addition to recording albums, Babko’s contributions to many film scores have included Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Jack Reacher 2.
In 2018, ETM-LA honored KORG Education with a Shining Star Award at the 13th Annual Benefit Gala. The award recognized the company as a corporate thought leader and partner in helping to further ETM-LA’s mission.
ETM-LA provides quality, yearlong, in-school music instruction in disadvantaged Los Angeles schools as part of the core curriculum for every child. Since its founding in 2006, ETM-LA has grown to serve approximately 17,000 students at 42 partner schools in Los Angeles County.