FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Moskovciak
Phone: 818-736-9248
Email: press@etmla.org
Website: www.etmla.org
Photos by Danny Moloshok/Moloshok Photography, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA – LOS ANGELES, CA – On Friday, December 6, 2024, Education Through Music-Los Angeles (etmla.org) hosted its 19th Year Benefit Gala at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Supporters from the music, film, business, and education communities attended ETM-LA’s annual fundraiser to give the gift of music to local under-resourced schools. The festive celebration honored Shining Star Awardees Blake Neely (ETM-LA Board Member & Emmy-Winning Composer; Masters of the Air, The Flight Attendant), Music Educator & Award-Winning Composer/Conductor Zanaida Stewart Robles, and GameSoundCon/Brian Schmidt (Corporate Partner & Leader in Video Game Music/Sound Design).
Gala host, Actor/Singer/Songwriter Karen David (The Irrational, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Galavant), rang in the holiday spirit with her charm and wit. The evening featured award presentations by Producer, Director & Writer Greg Berlanti (presented to Neely), Mezzo-Soprano & Emmy-Winning TV Host Suzanna Guzmán (presented to Dr. Robles), and SVP of Formosa Group Worldwide Interactive Paul Lipson (presented to Schmidt). Lipson stated, “Music is the center; it’s the catalyst and that’s why we’re here.” A poignant moment occurred during a video tribute in memoriam of ETM-LA Advisory Board Member, the legendary Disney composer Richard M. Sherman, as the attendees joined a heartwarming singalong of “It’s a Small World.” ETM-LA’s student choir & string ensembles from McKinley Elementary School (Compton) and Payne P-8 STEAM Academy (Inglewood) continued the tribute to Sherman with their own rendition of the classic song.
Performances by SYML, Harvard-Westlake Jazz Singers (directed by Dr. Robles), and ETM-LA Alum Krista Sims rounded out the gala, co-chaired by Sherri Chung & Christopher Lennertz, which raised over $500,000. In a unique collaboration between ETM-LA honorees, Harvard-Westlake sang an a cappella arrangement of Neely’s theme song to “The Flight Attendant” and added vocals to “Troubled,” a song written and performed by Neely and SYML. Robles shared, “Teaching is like you [getting] a gift everyday… I want to thank ETM-LA for their mission, which is so crucial to the landscape of music in this area where there’s been a drought of music education for three decades.”
Schmidt reflected, “Music education can change somebody as a person.” Neely remarked, “What we are trying to do with these kids is inspire them… we want them to know that if something is hard, you can do it – stick to it, we adults support you – and leave this place better than when you got here.”