Press Media
February 2010
Upcoming Benefit Concerts for CMP
A Different Drum
Presented by Robert Plimpton, Organist-in-residence, First United Methodist Church of San Diego
Jason Ginter, Principal Timpanist, San Diego Symphony
Sunday, February 21 7:00 p.m.
First United Methodist Church – click here to download flyer
2111 Camino Del Rios
San Diego, C A 9210 8
619. 297.4366



Peter and the Wolf California Music Project and Wells Fargo Present

Peter and the Wolf
Narrated by Dick Van Dyke
Performed by The Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra
Gary S. Greene, Conductor
Special Performance by Adam Stern
Sponsored by Wells Fargo
Sunday February 28, 2010
1:00 pm - 2:00pm
The Broad Stage
1310 11th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
For tickets please call FTA Events at 310.288.1755
or download a form here to fax or mail




January 2010
The California Music Project featured on KPBS Radio San Diego
In November, the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory honored the region's hardworking music teachers with a concert. Such a celebration seemed like a good time to explore the state of music education in our schools and to look at a new program designed to support music education training called the California Music Project. To hear our site directors, Donna Hollinger and Russ Sperling interviewed click here.
October 2009
The California Music Project is on the cutting edge
The California Music Project is on the cutting edge preparing undergraduates with actual classroom teaching experience and mentoring from seasoned teachers! We already know that providing music education undergraduates with field experience is what is most needed for training the best teachers. Now we are hearing it from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
In a speech delivered on October 22, 2009 he said he has talked to hundreds of great young teachers while serving as Chicago schools chief and later as President Barack Obama's schools chief. "Most of them say they did not get the hands-on teacher training about managing the classroom that they needed, especially for high-needs students."
The government is also to blame, Duncan said. Most states have paper-and-pencil licensing exams that measure basic skills and knowledge but not readiness for the classroom, and local mentoring programs are lacking.
The California Music Project’s Music Teacher Training Initiative offers readiness for the classroom and mentoring. Join us in strengthening music education in our schools. Support our work by making a donation and share this story with others. Together, we can make a difference!
Read the full story "Overhaul sought for teacher-prep programs" using this link



June 2009
Barbara George receives Director's Award from Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council
On June 3, 2009, Barbara J. George, Board President of the California Music Projects, received the Director's Award from the California Arts Council, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Modern Art.

In accepting her award, Barbara George said, “ I am honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award. I thank the California Arts Council as a valued, necessary institution, which I hope will prosper in the future. We are facing very lean times, but we cannot forget the value of music education in the lives of our children. There are over 110 languages spoken in California schools. Without programs like music and arts, the very courses that transcend language, students make few friends and segregate at lunch, preferring to speak with the people who speak their language. The common language of music overcomes barriers and brings people together. Music can express, enable and empower - it develops cognitive and innovative thinking. We are working to keep music alive.”
June 2009
California Arts Council awards the California Music Project a $10,000 grant for the Music Teacher Training Initiative in San Jose and San Diego.
June 2009
The San Diego Unified School District voted to save the VAPA programs "Visual and Performing Arts" in San Diego city schools.

We are very glad to say the school district board also voted to retain the 28 instrumental teachers teaching there. Professor Donna Conati, Director of San Diego State University’s School of Music and Dance, our newest board member, spoke passionately of the importance of music education to the board of the school district. We are proud that CMP is contributing to the development of deepening ties between universities, schools, parents and students which can lead to successful advocacy like that demonstrated in San Diego. See the following links for more information:

http://www.artsjournal.com/dogdays/2009/06/rallying-to-save-arts-educatio-1.html http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-Arts-in-San-Diego-Schools/89886696797

October 2006
CALIFORNIA MUSIC PROJECT TO RELEASE FIRST CD OF
ALL-STAR MUSIC THIS MONTH
TO SUPPORT MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE STATES PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Jackson Browne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Los Lobos all appear on CD
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 2006) Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson and a host of leading California musicians, singers, and bands will release a blockbuster compilation CD this month with the sole purpose of raising much needed money and awareness for music education in the California public school system.
Other artists featured on the new CD include Ben Harper, Perla Batalla, Los Lobos, Jack Johnson, Michelle Shocked, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Leela James, Rick Holmstrom, Dwight Yoakam, Anna Nalick and Warren Zevon. A total of 18 songs are on the CD and all artists donated their music.
California Music Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission of strengthening music education in California public schools through advocacy and funding of effective programs and people. Its goals are to:
Provide grants to music teachers, music professionals and schools to bring more music learning into California public schools
Spearhead joint-ventures with universities, companies, foundations and music-focused organizations to fund, pilot and expand music programs in schools across California
Serve as an advocate to both public and private sectors to further music as a core discipline to which every student will have equal access.
The artists are donating their music to the cause and felt the project struck a personal chord with them, both musically and from the standpoint of bettering education.
Every God-given child should have the right to music education in school, just like math, science and reading, said singer Michelle Shocked. The truth is that by denying children music and arts in school we are, in fact, leaving every child behind. Parents and communities need to put pressure on every school board and legislator to make sure we don't let this continue.
Its a shame that we are depriving so many California children of the benefits of music in schools, said Grammy-winning artist Bonnie Raitt. We all need to demand better of our school boards and legislators so every child has the chance to develop to their fullest with a well-rounded education including the arts.
Artists and songs featured on the first CMP CD include:
Beck Scarecrow
Perla Batalla Heaven & Earth 
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Shuffle Your Feet 

Bonnie Raitt Love On One Condition
Chris Gerolmo Over There
Jackson Browne Never Stop
Rick Holmstrom Pee Wees Nightmare
Leela James Music
Jimmy Dillon Somebody Like You
Tremolo Baby Blue
Michelle Shocked Picoesque
Jack Johnson Good People
Red Hot Chili Peppers Parallel Universe
Anna Nalick Satellite
Dwight Yoakam Intentional Heartache
Ben Harper Better Way
Los Lobos Hurry Tomorrow
Warren Zevon Keep Me In Your Heart
In addition to producing a series of CDs, California Music Project is planning special events and concerts around the state that will help to heighten interest. Musical artists, including those not on the CD, are very passionate about their work and their keen desire to see Californias children get some of the same attention they received while growing up around music.
Children need to learn how to communicate their ideas through music and the arts, regardless of their ethnicity and background, said singer/songwriter Stephen Stills, a major supporter of music education in the schools. Playing music is a wonderful opportunity for young people to experience self-expression and greater self-esteem. These programs are in desperate need of our assistance.
"Some of my purest moments playing guitar were in after school guitar lessons taught by Ms. Rorro, my 3rd grade teacher, recalled Rick Holmstrom, one of the artists on the current CMP CD. But this was a Catholic school in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the arts were celebrated. I'd hate to be a third grader in a public school in California now, where it seems little effort is made to encourage kids to appreciate music. Come on everybody, our kids could be the future Ellington's, Ray's, Cash's and Flea's!"
The California Music Project CD is available at Best Buy and wherever good music is sold. It will also soon be available at californiamusicproject.com.
The California Music Project is a joint, long-term initiative to strengthen music education in California public schools. CMP unites the California music industry with the State of California, the California Arts Council, California Alliance for Arts Education, California Association for Music Education, the California State Student Association and the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment.