Elemental Music

Did you know... Musical training not only accelerates brain development in kids, but it also produces long-lasting changes in mature, grown up brains! If you have a child who will be in grades 38 in Fall 2021, now is the perfect time to join Elemental Music. We just opened sign-ups for our 21/22 season! Students and parents love our programs for strings, choir, guitar, band, and more!... Visit our website for more information: https://www.elementalmusic.org///3/28/join-elemental-music

Our Featured Teacher for April is Morgan Gerstmar, who teaches for THREE of our programs! We loved learning about her path to music (surprise, it's not a straight line!), her favorite musical memory , her parrot Wilma, and more! Read all about it here: https://www.elementalmusic.org//teacher-feature-morgan-ger

So...what have YOU done during lockdown???

Strings and piano - looking for a summer opportunity? This virtual music camp is open to ages 8 through college and there is a special $25 discount for Elemental Music students! Email Dr. Jo for more information about this program! In weekly sessions, students will have a great time learning new skills like sightreading, intro to conducting and more. Daily Nano-concerts, lessons with teachers from Curtis, Oberlin, Juilliard and Rice, rise-and-shine warmups and flipgrid concerts round out our weeks, filled with fun activities and a chance to play your heart out.

Y'ALL, we are blushing. Thanks to you, Elemental Music received enough nominations to advance into the Top 5 for MOST LOVED Santa Monica! With over 17,000 total nominations in the first phase of the competition, we're so grateful. We love playing a role in the lives of so many young musicians in Santa Monica. Voting begins TODAY for the title of Most Loved Nonprofit in Santa Monica 2021 and you can vote DAILY through the entire month of April! ... Can you us win the title and spread a little love by voting for us every day this month? We're in the Services Category! CLICK HERE: https://www.smdp.com/ml21

Some moving stories in here.

Last time we checked in with our teachers about their new virtual projects, it was April 2020 and virtual life was a brave new world. What do things look like now for our coaches, a year into the pandemic? Music encourages not just creativity, but also grit, determination, and resourcefulness. We're not at all surprised that our teachers have been able to stay musically inspired throughout this time at home! Click the link to read what our amazing teachers have been up to this past year, from new commissions, projects archived by the Library of Congress and - yes, even an experimental music group based within the world of Animal Crossing!

So you may have heard Peter and the Wolf before...but probably not like this!

Have you seen our newest Charitybuzz items? From incredible artwork by Artist Jabu and Kysa Johnson to professional consultations with Netflix's Christina Rogers (Director, Original Independent Film) and Vans VP of Global Creative, Jamie Reilly - there are some truly amazing and one-of-a-kind things and experiences to bid on! Best of all, proceeds support Elemental Music's music education programs. Please share with any you might think would be interested! https://www.charity...buzz.com/support/elementalmusic #artworkforsale #fineart #fineartforsale #professionalconsultation #businessconsulting #screenwriting #networking #opportunity #auction #independentfilmmaker #marketing #entrepreneur

We're feeling lucky to have added two new AWESOME humans to our Board of Directors this year Brenda Benson and Victor Komlos! Both Brenda and Victor took some time to talk to us about their past experiences with music, their favorite Elemental Music memories, and more! ** Check out the interview here: https://www.elementalmusic.org//welcoming-brenda-benson-an

Need a little inspiration to start off 2021? Check out our interview with Elemental Choir alum Sarah Linowes and hear about her journey through SMMUSD's choir program, her advice for young musicians, and what it's like to start singing with Samohi Choir during a pandemic! Read here... https://www.elementalmusic.org//2021/1/4/sarahalumnifeature See more

So...are you all on Tik Tok?

Please join us for the premiere of Elemental Music's first ever virtual concert on this Saturday, December 5 at 4pm PST! Our students have worked hard to learn their music and prepare recordings for you. Now we are thrilled for friends and family across Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and beyond to join us as we hear for the first time this fall the incredible magic of our young musicians playing TOGETHER in these virtual ensembles! Thank you to the Sponsors of our Season of Firsts for making this concert possible: Providence, Euri & Robert Mills | TruLine Realty, and Canyon Partners.

You may know Jon Batiste as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or as the Co-Artistic Director of the The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, or as the composer of many of the original songs in Pixar's Soul, or as the person who led a musical Black Lives Matter march through the streets of New York City last year... And if you don't know him, here's an awesome introduction. We're LOVING this joy-filled new music video for a song off of his next album, which will be released in March 2021!

So many highlights to this year, despite the strangeness. Thanks to ALL who support our programs and make our work possible. There is still a little time left to make a tax-deductible donation to Elemental Music before the year ends! If you feel inspired, please make a donation tonight here: give.elementalmusic.org/holiday... With the help of some amazing donors, we are 72% of the way to our holiday fundraising goal, and every single gift inches us closer to reaching 100%! And remember, the CARES Act allows folks to deduct up to $300 in donations to charities, even if you already take the standard deduction!

We're smiling because 56 incredible donors have helped us get 64% of the way to our fundraising goal, helping support our music education programs and over 200 students making music with us this season. Can you help nudge us further? EVERY GIFT COUNTS, no matter the size! Give here: https://give.elementalmusic.org/holiday... And remember, thanks to the CARES Act, donations up to $300 are deductible even if you don't itemize! Yippee! But don't delay - today is the LAST DAY to make a tax-deductible donation for 2020! Help us write off this strange year with a write off of your own.

Happy Monday! Sending smiles from our Elemental Choir and wishing you a great start to the week!

In the final days of our holiday fundraiser, we are 55% of the way to our goal thanks to 49 incredible supporters! There is still time to make a gift in support of the 200+ children who depend on our music programs for inspiration, connection, and stability during this pandemic. Only with help from you are we able to make our programs run. A gift of ANY AMOUNT helps us get closer to our goal:... give.elementalmusic.org/holiday -: % ? Whether you itemize or not, anyone who donates up to $300 can deduct that against other income for donations in 2020! Don't miss your chance to take advantage of this change - a bright spot of 2020!

Just 6 hours left to bid on a #businessconsultation w/Jamie Reilly, VP of Global Creative at #Vans! Reilly oversees all creative work for the brand's consumer touchpoints and previously spent 15 years working at ad agencies on brands like #RedBull, #Pixar, #Google, #Target, #Samsung & #Apple. If you are an #entrepreneur or trying to firm up your own #brandmarketing, don't miss this opportunity to consult with one of the best in the industry! An amazing #networking opportunit...y, too. Bidding ends TODAY and you can be the first bidder! https://www.charitybuzz.com//auction-business-creative-con

While we have spent much of this fall celebrating Elemental Music’s extraordinary season of firsts, it has also led us to do some reflecting on our own musical firsts. Many of us at Elemental Music have memories of the first music teachers who made a lasting impact on us! If you or your loved ones had your lives impacted and changed by a music teacher (an Elemental Music teacher, perhaps?!), please consider making a donation to our music education programs in their honor: giv...e.elementalmusic.org/holiday With only a few days left in the year, we're just over 50% of the way towards our year-end fundraising goal. THANK YOU to all who have contributed so far!

"The anthem was uncovered this summer by Rachel Webber, a postgraduate student at the University of York. Webber was doing research into the musical life of charity hospitals and realised that the significance of an attribution to a 'Miss Savage' in the British Library’s digitised version of an obscure 18th-century hymn collection had been overlooked."

As we celebrate Hanukkah this year, we are also enjoying revisiting this beautiful performance by our 2018-19 Elemental Choir of the Yiddish folk song "O, Ir Kleyne Likhtelekh (O, You Little Candles Bright)" arr. David Eddleman. How wonderful it will be when we can all sing in the same room together again.

From our Elemental Music family to yours, we are wishing you a healthy and peaceful winter break filled with love and, of course, music!

Progress check: we're 27% of the way towards our holiday fundraising goal. THANK YOU to everyone who has already made a gift to support our music education programs! Donations help us support things like student scholarships, our expert teaching staff, and even producing our virtual concerts. In a normal season, we charge admission to our concerts. This year, there are no ticket fees for our virtual performances. If you enjoyed our concert and it brought you a little joy, p...lease consider making a donation to our holiday fundraiser in support of our young musicians! GIVE HERE: https://give.elementalmusic.org/holiday

Remember that video we posted a while ago, featuring Elemental Strings alum Kielor Tung performing EVERY PART in Vivaldi's Spring? Dr. Jo had the chance to catch up with Kielor last week and talk to him about his musical goals, what he's been up to during this pandemic, his favorite Elemental Music memories, and - oh yeah - finding out exactly HOW LONG it took to record that Vivaldi video! Read it here: ... https://www.elementalmusic.org//z53mggrmqwbbj5gi97uc5zu2dj See more

Still looking for the perfect gift for the #fineart lover in your life? Check out the artwork by South African Artist Jabu up for auction on our Charitybuzz page - bidding ends in 1 week! Starting bids are between $1-3k! See what's available here: https://www.charitybuzz.com/support/elementalmusic #auction #artauction #fineartforsale #artcollector #fineartcollector #artistjabu #Jabu

We have a few special auctions up at Charitybuzz right now, just in time for the holidays! Ending in 6 DAYS is the chance to bid on a 1 hour business consultation with Jamie Reilly, VANS Vice President of Global Creative, via Zoom! All bids support Elemental Music and our music education programs! Valued at $2,500...bidding starts at just $525 and ends in 6 DAYS! Jamie Reilly is the Vice President of Global Creative at Vans, heading up all creative responsibilities for the Ca...lifornia sneaker brand. He’s spent his last five years at Vans, overseeing the creative work for all the brand’s consumer touch points, including both brand and product marketing, store design, branded content, online presence, events, performance marketing, loyalty, etc. Though it’s a more than fifty year old company, in the last five years, Vans has doubled in size to $4bn, while undergoing a transformation from a wholesale based, sales led model, to a direct to consumer led business focused on our own stores and Vans.com. Previous to his time at Vans, Jamie spent 15 years working at ad agencies on brands like RedBull, Pixar, Google, Target, Samsung, and a great deal of time on Apple. He worked on Apple during a particularly interesting and significant time in the brand’s evolution, from an innovative computer company (and a challenger brand) to the technology giant we know today. Visit bit.ly/jamievans to bid or for more info! #vans #vansoffthewall #businessconsultation #losangeles #santamonica #networking #opportunity #bidding #auction #marketing #brandmarketing #productmarketing #creativeconsultation #creativeconsultant #businessconsultant

As we celebrate our season of firsts, we thought it would be fun to celebrate a teacher who is in their first season of teaching with Elemental Music! This year, we are thrilled to have Brendon Grabowski teaching in our ever-growing Elemental Guitar program. Visit our website to learn more about Brendon, hear about his experiences teaching with Elemental Music, and even watch him perform! Read more: https://www.elementalmusic.org//teacher-feature-brendon-gr

We are filled with gratitude for all of the many ways that families have supported our programs this season. Covid has impacted our community greatly and we are providing scholarships for nearly 60% of our students more than any season ever before. If you are able to make a gift or share our year-end fundraiser, we would be thrilled. We are nearly 20% of the way to our goal. Donations help us continue providing a community for our young musicians despite the distance that the pandemic has created! https://give.elementalmusic.org/ca/season-of-firsts/c309745

And the music keeps going. Thank you to all who joined us tonight for our virtual concert! Many of our young musicians played solos over Zoom for their families tonight following our premiere here. We love seeing these photos coming in tonight of students continuing their concert day with in-home performances, flower and cupcake deliveries, and more! Special day, special students. We are grateful for them, and for all of you who support their musical adventures.

https://www.facebook.com/ElementalMusicSM/videos/818261709024537

Our Parent Task Force is going above and beyond to create these beautiful concert day goodies for families! Look at the beautiful bouquets put together by AP mom Kimberly Crawford and these gourmet mini-cupcakes from Lady C Cakes (aka ES mom Carolina SG)! And of course, a shoutout to all on our PTF who will be doing these socially-distanced deliveries for all who ordered! Thank you, PTF, for helping to make this a truly special concert day.

Do you know what tonight is? GAME NIGHT! Err....Game Afternoon! Our Sinfonia students, winners of the Practice-a-thon Participation Challenge, have won a special game night with Elemental Strings Sinfonia Director Jason Aiello! What does he have planned? They'll find out soon! And just think - many of these students may work again with Mr. Aiello at Santa Monica High School, where he is in his 15th year as Director of Orchestras! How cool it will be to have this memory with him from when they were in elementary school!