Save the Music Launches First-Ever Electronic Music Grant Named After Legendary Producer J Dilla
August 26 2019 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
Innovative Program Developed in Partnership
with Pharrell Williams’ i am OTHER and Arizona State University to
Provide Equipment and Curriculum named after the “Coltrane of
Beats”
FIRST LOOK: HERE
MTV and Save the Music—a non-profit organization that has
launched over 2,000 music programs within schools across the
country—today announced a first-of-its-kind program supporting
electronic music production to develop students’ creative and
technical talents and reflect how modern music is being made
today.
The grant, which was developed in partnership with Pharrell
Williams’ creative collective i am OTHER and Arizona State
University (ASU), is named the J Dilla Music Tech Grant after the
legendary producer who worked with De La Soul, A Tribe Called
Quest, Common and Erykah Badu, among others, and whose
revolutionary approach to making beats continues to inspire artists
more than a decade after his death. The program’s innovative
combination of music technology and a forward-looking curriculum
focuses on the fundamentals of electronic music creation, recording
and production, bringing out each student’s inner creativity,
talent, and confidence.
Beginning next month, seven high schools across the country will
participate in the multi-year initiative. The schools include:
- Barringer HS, Newark, NJ
- High School for Public Service, Brooklyn, NY
- South Philadelphia HS, Philadelphia, PA
- Hialeah Senior HS, Miami, FL.
- Arts High School, Newark, NJ
- McDonogh 35, New Orleans, LA
- Belmont HS, Los Angeles, CA
“This expanded focus into electronic music technology was driven
by listening to the needs of the community and realizing where we
could make the most impact on kids,” said Henry Donahue, Executive
Director of Save the Music. “After 20 years of providing students
and teachers with more than $50 million of band and string
instruments, we have now added mixers, turntables, and drum
machines to accurately and equitably reflect the music ecosystem
today.”
“DJs with turntables and producers with MIDI controllers and
state-of-the-art technology are the vanguard of new music makers
today—across all musical genres,” said Amy Doyle, General Manager
of MTV, and Board Co-chair of Save the Music. “The J Dilla Music
Technology Grant underscores MTV and Save the Music’s commitment to
cultivating the future creators, providing them with cutting edge
tools and innovative instruction to enable them to participate in
the future of music.”
"With the J Dilla Music Tech Grant we are deepening our
collective efforts to broaden access to the highest quality music
education and thinking equitably about the communities we serve to
build and expand the pedagogy and curricula that foster young
people's skills, creativity, and expression," said Evan Tobias,
Associate Professor of Music Education at Arizona State University
and head of the Consortium for Innovation and Transformation in
Music Education.
Save the Music
Save The Music Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps
kids, schools, and communities realize their full potential through
the power of making music. Founded in 1997, Save The Music partners
with school districts and raises funds to restore music programs in
public schools. Since inception, we have donated over $58 million
worth of new musical instruments and technology to over 2,159
schools in 276 school districts around the country– impacting the
lives of countless students. Learn more about us and our efforts at
www.savethemusic.org.
Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the
American Research University, creating an institution that is
committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by
those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a
New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to
the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the
economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that
surround it. https://citme.music.asu.edu
i am OTHER
i am OTHER is the strategic consulting and creative collective
assembled and led by Pharrell Williams. That which makes you
different makes you special. https://iamother.com/
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Kelly Andersen Kelly.Andersen@viacom.com Jo Flattery
Jo.Flattery@viacommix.com Chanel Secreto
Chanel.Secreto@viacom.com
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