This is not a story about me. This is a story about a little boy named Jayson who LOVES music. Jayson listens to all types of music from 90’s era R&B to Frank Sinatra, right up to a few country tunes. Jayson also loves to play music. Specifically, Jayson plays guitar and wants to be part of his school band. Unfortunately, guitar is not on the list of band instruments for his grade. He decided to try the clarinet, but the extra fees associated with new lessons and instrument rentals looked like too much for his family at this time. This is not a completely unusual story here on the Cape.
It still breaks my heart.
Imagine trying to go through an entire day with out music. No radio… No Pandora… No cell phone ringtones… No children’s toys playing lullabies… No commercial jingles… No Muzak in stores… No music in video games or movies or television…Nothing.
Blah! As someone in the broadcasting world, I cannot imagine a moment without music! Without music lessons and time for children to creatively experiment with various instruments, how can we have any music at all?
Fine… I will step down from my soapbox before I begin to talk about all the amazing effects music has on the human brain… From math to emotional development to social skills; all these benefits can be found in this NAMM Foundation article about “How Children Benefit from Music Education”
Many years ago I started a local music show called “The Cheap Seats.” I wanted to help promote local music on Cape Cod, but I also wanted to be a resource for musicians who had the drive to create original music. It was through my little radio show that I had the chance to meet the founder of an amazing non-profit designed specifically to foster and sustain music education. I am talking about Ernie Boch Jr and Music Drives Us.
If you are not familiar with Music Drives Us and Ernie’s passion for music, MDU supports music education programs, supplies schools with musical instruments, sponsors music therapy programs, and so much more.
Let’s get back to my new friend, Jayson.
I invited Jayson in for a tour of our radio station. Jayson met Ralphie Marino and Karen Blake from the “Karen & Ralphie Morning Show” on 999 The Q, and also spent a little time in the studio with me learning about Cape Country 104.
After our tour, I got to show Jayson some of the studio equipment and then asked him if he could open an envelope and read the letter inside. Here is what happened:
I would like to send out a personal thank you to Ernie Boch Jr and everyone who is part of the Music Drives Us family. You are making a big difference in a lot of lives. Thank you!
For more information about Music Drives Us, please click the logo link:
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