FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Boone
Phone: (818) 433-7600
Email: press@etmla.org
Website: www.etmla.org
Los Angeles, CA – In June, over 100 students from ETM-LA partner schools enrolled in this year’s two-week Virtual Summer Program. The students got to virtually participate in a course of strings ensemble, band, or general music — all while having fun!
With mental health and wellness being of utmost importance in our students, each day began with a music therapy session led by Music Teacher and Therapy Specialist Ricardo Hurtado, which helped students become present and decompress before getting into the day’s musical learning. Jazz and blues were themes for this summer, with lessons focused on instrumental improvisation, vocal scatting, jazz instruments, song structure, and songwriting with the help of music technology software.
Activities included students creating scatting videos, performing improvised music on their instruments while accompanied by blues riffs, and learning about artists such as B.B. King and Randy Newman.
Parents and siblings joined in on the fun at home too! One Summer Program parent shared: “My kids looked forward to their sessions every morning; they enjoyed being a part of the Zoom community with other kids. They had fun and knowledgeable teachers and were exposed to new music genres, artists, and instruments.” Student Hazel expressed her gratitude for ETM-LA’s music program: “It kept music in my life through the pandemic, and then summer.”
This past school year, ETM-LA provided uninterrupted distance learning instruction and resources to 46 schools and approximately 19,000 students across LA County. In our upcoming 16th year of programming, your support will help ETM-LA continue closing the gap for low-income area schools that remain deprived of in-school, yearlong music and arts programs. We are more resolved than ever in our mission to support equity and access in providing quality music education.
Thank you to the California Community Fund for their generous support of our summer programs as part of the LA County Summer Learning Initiative.
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Education Through Music-Los Angeles is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide and promote music in under-resourced schools as part of the core curriculum for every child in order to enhance students’ academic achievement, creativity, and overall development.
For more information: www.etmla.org