Author: Kiff Gallagher

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7553117.stm—–

“You can’t walk down the street with a ukulele without being asked about it,” said Chris Johnson, who plays the instrument with the Deedle Deedle Dees, a Brooklyn-based rock band for children. “I teach some kids music lessons, usually starting with piano, but they are all interested in ukulele.” What the world seems to need … [Read more…]

…performing West African rhythms with his students from Umana Barnes, Public Middle School in East Boston, MA. cool huh? he tells me those kids never skip his class… check out Jeremy’s party here: http://www.thisworldmusic.com/whoweare.html—–

From NYTimes today: “A career in the arts has always been difficult to establish. But in the last few years the process of breaking in has changed as digital technologies and shifting economics profoundly alter the ways in which art is made, popularized and consumed. Perhaps no entertainment industry has changed as rapidly as the … [Read more…]

“They had enrolled in the summer band camp operated by the Marching 100. For the campers, these eight days offered a kind of initiation; for the band, they offered the chance to recruit future members and to spread its ecstatic performance style literally around the world.” “In the nation’s historically black colleges, marching bands have … [Read more…]

Ballad Across the Aisle for Ailing Senator Touches Many in Congress; May be Played at the Democratic Convention http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/07/16/across_the_aisle_a_ballad_to_kennedy/?s_campaign=8315—–

“Armstrong, Goodman, Gillespie and the rest were linking freedom in music with freedom in life.” Above, Louis Armstrong in Cairo in 1961. We can argue all we want about the “intrinsic verses the instrumental value” of the arts. We can take our MBA’s and social entrepreneurs and calculate the SROI (return on social investment) and … [Read more…]

It was a year that would teach her the satisfaction of tiny victories in a place where homelessness means that some kids cannot take their instruments home to practice, where chronic asthma forces some to switch from wind instruments to percussion, where the roar of a lunchroom leaves a newcomer stunned. Ms. Vegter, 25, was … [Read more…]