Dreams about playing a huge concert in California in front of thousands of people has just become a reality for a group of eight children through the work of Teach Kids Music, Inc., a local nonprofit. The TKM All-Star Band has been selected to play at the prestigious National Association of Music Merchants music and trade show in Anaheim California on Jan. 26.
The NAMM show is one of the world’s biggest international music conferences and features thousands of music manufacturers and hundreds of famous musicians performing.
Teach Kids Music founder John McCarthy put together the TKM All-Star band of musicians aged 10 to 16 that have performed locally at TKM Open Mic events and at local festivals. The band performs modern and classic rock music covering bands including Led Zeppelin, Paramore, Iron Maiden, Journey and more.
The musicians include Max Canul, a 10-year-old who sings AC/DC and plays drums, guitar and is now learning the keyboard; Connor Rizzo, 16, keyboard player and vocalist; Sephie Delaney, 13, a vocalist who loves Led Zeplin, Stevie Nicks, Heart and Joan Jett; Leanne Parks, 16, bass guitar and vocals; Jake Zabawar, 14, guitar; Brooks Mort, 12, drums; Willow Podoloff,11, vocals and Ondine Harvey,13, guitar.
Teach Kids Music, Inc is the nonprofit offshoot of The Rock House School of Music, an award-winning school that has taught hundreds of music students in 2 Connecticut locations for over 25 years.
It has been proven that bringing music into a child’s life at a very young age, such as 3 – 8 years of age, increases the likelihood that they will play music for life and benefit from all that it brings to them–focus, determination, stress reduction brought on by environmental and financial issues, creativity, self-esteem and accomplishment creating a strong foundation for their future.
Teach Kids Music, Inc provides children from resource limited families who have a passion for music, with opportunities to learn about music and to play an instrument while enhancing the development of creative, lifetime skills that will help them be successful in life, within and outside of music . TKM provides instruments, instruction, and a performance atmosphere to help guide children on their musical journey. Last year, Teach Kids Music provided 38 “Little Rockers” classes at no cost to 85 children ages 3 to 8; hosted 10 “Open Mic” sessions with 150 children performing over the course of the year; and conducted four instrument drives resulting in 50 musical instrument donations.
Teach Kids Music’s goal is to expand services and provide opportunities for more children. Funding for TKM comes from donations and small grants. To help support TKM and/or to help cover airfare for the young musicians and families going to California, online donations can be made at the website, www.TeachKidsMusic.org or mailed to Teach Kids Music, 52 Collis St., West Haven 06516 Teach Kids Music is a 501 C 3 nonprofit, based in West Haven with an auxiliary office in Wallingford.