Giving Back Through Music In Iowa – Part II

Published on

Jun 11, 2010

Earlier this week, we introduced you to a pair of young musicians who were successful in raising more than $5,000 for Alzheimer’s research. Today we’re going to give you the scoop on the other projects Iowa musicians are working on through From the Top’s Arts Leadership program.

Hayley Graham

Meet Hayley – a high school clarinetist from Cedar Rapids who is intent on helping middle-school musicians.  As she puts it, “middle school is a difficult time for many students to get excited about music…I hope to re-enforce the foundations that these students are learning, and give them individual attention in hopes of noticing every detail of their playing.” She’s got some great pictures and video up on the Iowa Makes Music blog.

Harin Lee

Harin & Darin Lee – these siblings share a love for music but have two very different projects for revitalizing music in their communities.  Harin decided to spend time at the Emerson Point nursing home to conduct and accompany a chorus and chimes group. He wants “to connect with the tenants through both music and by spending time with them.”  Check out his blog for a couple of nice group pictures.

Darin Lee

Darin has been investigating El Sistema, the revolutionary music education program in Venezuela, and is comparing it to the music ed program in her hometown of  Iowa City/Coralville. She hopes that researching and spreading the word about El Sistema will inspire people to strive for the best in music education.

Kelsey Qu

Kelsey’s number 1 reason for participating in Iowa Makes Music’s Arts Leadership Program is to spread the sound of music to her community.  Her project involves performing her Chinese repertoire on the cello for three different retirement communities, because as she says “one person can make a big difference.”  Read her blog for some memorable quotes and story snippets of the people whose lives she’s impacted.

There’s tons of great information, pictures, and videos from all the Iowa Makes Music kids on their blog, so give it a look!