The nonprofit "Sounds Academy" is celebrating 10 years in the Valley, making sure a child’s zip code does not determine their access to music education.
ABC15 first covered the sights and sounds of the non-profit in December of 2023, profiling students like Callie and Abraham.
“We didn’t have the money to play an instrument, but SOUNDS Academy helped me,” Abraham said.
The students have accomplished a lot since that time.
Abraham is now a senior in high school and has been auditioning for various music schools across the country. Callie spent the summer in Los Angeles, shadowing some of the best in the business.
But as the program continues to grow and thrive, founder Kirk Johnson says he's seen the future of music education get more uncertain. He says he's seeing more districts being forced to cut music classes in their schools due to funding problems.
"Even if they aren't cut, the quality of what's happening in that music program is being sacrificed," Johnson said. "As I talk to administrators, as I talk to superintendents, as I talk to principals, they don't want to cut the arts, it's kind of like, 'I'm in a rock and a hard place, Kirk, what am I supposed to do?' And then we just try to give them resources to alleviate that gap."
Those resources include after-school or in-school programs at a discounted rate for the schools involved. The instruments are free for the students to borrow.
Program Manager Matthew Fox says they also offer a variety of other programs, including private lessons, which are $60 for the entire month, but he says 87% of families don't pay anything due to scholarships. Private music lessons can typically cost $60 for one or two hours.
The non-profit says they need the community’s help to continue to reach more students.
Students will be performing at their 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix on May 16 at 7:30 p.m.
For ticket information, click here.
If schools reach out to SOUNDS Academy, Johnson says they’ll be giving tickets for students to attend the concert for free.
To contact them, click here.
