Across America schools are cutting their budgets and one of the programs most often left behind is music. For our local public schools, things aren’t any different. Janesville elementary, always looking for ways to keep their music program alive, and will be hosting a fundraising concert this Monday, October 8th, at 7 p.m. in the Janesville School gymnasium.
“We have to make musical arts in public schools self supportive,” said A.R. Danes, volunteer music teacher at Janesville school.
“Janesville and Westwood are the only programs feeding into the high school programs, we have to keep it going,” he said.
The concert will feature Sonia Rao, a featured finalist on NBC’s The Voice and an advocate for musical arts in public education — and Hope Nix — country music songwriter from Oklahoma — and local fiddler Tallon Sandoval.
The school’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) Music Booster has been working to raise funds to support an after school music program led by volunteer music teacher A.R. Danes since Janesville School music teacher Suzanna Blackwood left a few years ago.
According to Danes this concert is just the start of a series of concerts the organization hopes to continue with another concert planned for the spring at the Lassen County fairgrounds.
“If these events are successful, then the music program can be self supportive.” said Danes. “We are hoping this trend will be supported by other schools, the community and then hopefully the county,” he said.
V.I.P. tickets are available for $20 per person and include dinner and a meet and greet beginning at 5 p.m. Concert only tickets are $15 per person. Seating is limited, so purchase tickets early at one of the following locations: Subway, Pizza Factory, Susanville Auto Center, Susanville Supermarket IGA, Customer Talk, Lassen County Arts Council, Grocery Outlet and the California Correctional Center.
“If we don’t continue to encourage the musical arts, we aren’t going to have any musicians in the future,” said Danes. ” Music can help kids learn measurement, proportion, and pattern perception, these are math skills. It can also help with self esteem, and that is important, ” he said.
For more information about the concert and the music program, call 253-3551
