Roots of Music empowers NOLa youth

28th May 2019   ·   0 Comments

By David T. Baker
Contributing Writer

If you’re a fan of music and a fan of cultivating young talent and young minds, the Roots of Music has a call to action for you: Support free music education for New Orleans’ youth.

The local music and youth mentorship organization has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to continue providing free music education and other services to New Orleans-area students.

“We do this work to empower the youth of New Orleans,” said Morgan Stewart, executive director of Roots of Music.

Founded in October 2007 by Rebirth Brass Band’s Derrick Tabb and Allison Reinhardt, the organization provides students ages 9 to 14 years old from low-income households with music education, academic tutoring and mentorship.

“This program provides a safe educational space for youth between the ages of 9 and 14,” said Stewart. “And we do this work to provide music education and services to our students at no cost to eliminate any common barriers to participation.”

Among the common barriers of which Stewart speaks are proper nutrition and transpiration, both of which the organization provides for its students, with transportation being round-trip. “These funds are going to help continue to provide the transportation and the meals but they will also help in general to provide instruments. All of our students play instruments here,” said Stewart.

Housed in the Marigny at St. Paul Lutheran School, the Roots of Music operates year-round on a five-day schedule, currently serving 175 students from throughout Orleans Parish. According to its website, the organization provides more than 2,500 hours of music education and other academic tutoring; more than 30,400 nutritious, hot meals; 1,400 bus journeys; and supplies its students with over 150 instruments, each assigned for individual use.

The organization says one of its goals is to provide New Orleans youths with the resources they need to lead lives that are positive, productive and self-reliant.

The GoFundMe campaign has a fundraising goal set at $30,000. As of press time on May 24, they had raised $3,125 of that goal.

While Stewart knows the campaign will help raise money to help continue the organization’s educational work with students, she’s also eager for it to raise awareness about an aspect of the work being done of which many may be unaware: Opportunities for travel for the Roots of Music’s youth band, the Marching Crusaders.

“This particular GoFundMe – even though we’re one site – this particular campaign will highlight the students’ international performance,” Stewart said, speaking of the Marching Crusaders’ May 29 performance at the annual Jazz sous les Black in Normandy, France.

The Marching Crusaders perform regularly in New Orleans, including at such events as New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Mardi Gras, Essence Festival, French Quarter Fest and others, and Stewart believes this trip will be a great opportunity for the students to experience a new culture while sharing their local, New Orleans music culture on a broader stage.

“This is an opportunity for students to be in Normandy on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which is a once in a lifetime chance for most of us to see something exciting and historically importantly,” Stewart said of the trip.

Participation in the Roots of Music is free for all students. Program hours are Monday through Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Students interested in the program can apply online at www.therootsofmusic.org. Those interested in donating to the GoFundMe campaign can do so at www.gofundme.com/support-free-music-education-new-orleans.

David T. Baker is an associate editor for The Louisiana Weekly. You can follow news and updates from David T. Baker on Twitter at @Tadfly or on Instagram @Thadfly.

This article originally published in the May 27, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.