With the help of a compassionate music mentor and the Music Impact Network, underserved youth have transformative musical experience
When professional bass player, Geena Spigarelli, considered what she might do while on break from touring this summer, she considered a number of things. Then she recalled how fulfilled she felt when she was a music mentor with Kids in a New Groove (KING), an Austin-based organization that provides free, private music instruction to youth living in foster care.
“I reached out to KING Executive Director, Laura Wood,” Geena says, “And we came up with the idea for a brand new Summer Music Camp.”
It was sure to be a success— if only Geena could figure out what to do for whole a whole week with 20 kids, many who were living in a group home and had no prior music experience.
That’s where Music Impact Network came in. Continue reading
Boston MA, July 19, 2018— 
Boston MA, November 20, 2017 — The Music & Youth Initiative is pleased to announce that in 2017, it contributed $430,000 in grants, equipment, and support services to 12 Youth Development Organizations in Massachusetts, Texas, and Georgia in support of their after-school music programs.
Picture this: 100 teens from different cities and different backgrounds, all with a shared love of music, together backstage in one of Boston’s most storied performance venues. They’re nervous but incredibly excited as they hold guitars in their hands or give their song-lyrics one last look. They can hear hundreds of audience members taking their seats. They deserve this. They’ve worked so hard for months. They’re about to step onto the Berklee Performance Center Stage and show their peers and family members– and themselves– all they’ve accomplished, musically and personally. 
Boston MA, June 13, 2017— When 17-year-old Nicolas stepped on the Berklee Performance Center stage on May 5, it wasn’t just as a musician. He was there as a leader and mentor, a culmination of his hard work as a Youth Leader in his Boys & Girls Club’s Music Clubhouse. The event was the Music Clubhouse Showcase, where 100 youth from 14 Music & Youth Music Clubhouses took the stage to perform. Youth Leaders were at the heart of these performances, helping in preparation and organization, behind the scenes and on stage.