MusicianCorps shares talent

Imagine the Peace Corps with a touch of soul and lots of instruments and you get something like MusicianCorps, part of the nonprofit Music National Service that trains and sends musicians into communities to spread the love of music.

According to Kiff Gallagher, founder of Music National Service and MusicianCorps, the program recruits and trains musicians, then sends them to serve for a year in underserved areas of the community, such as public schools and children’s hospitals.

The musicians encourage kids to engage in music therapy as well as composing and performing music.

“(Music has) been a second mother to me,” Gallagher said. “Having the courage to perform is a lot like what it takes to present a new idea in a boardroom. … It’s given me an opportunity to connect with other human beings of different backgrounds. … It’s given me a ton of joy and it’s been a great teacher.”

While MusicianCorps has been up and running for just 18 months, it has already spread to New Orleans, Chicago, Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco. According to Gallagher, the program has provided regular music instruction for about 3,200 kids.

Many have been inspired by MusicianCorps’ philosophy, including Jonathan Greenblatt, a lecturer in the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He wrote an article in The Huffington Post discussing the need for MusicianCorps to come to Los Angeles.

“Our music budgets have been cut from many public schools. I think it is a really good idea to do whatever we can to get music back into the public schools as soon as possible,” Greenblatt said.

Gallagher acknowledges that a lot of hard work will be needed to incorporate MusicianCorps into the city of Los Angeles.

“I do think it will happen. I think that there is definitely potential there,” UCLA alumna Brittany Redgate said. “It costs money to pay these musicians to go serve full time in those classrooms and to deliver music education in a really powerful and positive way. If there are the resources there, then we can be in that city.”

Gallagher thinks MusicianCorps will make its way to Los Angeles very soon, possibly within the next school year, though he said it will take a lot of planning with local leadership to develop a program to support the youth.

“That is a process that I think is beginning. Jonathan’s article was exciting and encouraging. There have been some other leaders who are stepping forward and wanting to begin the process of building and raising the funds and designing the program. We’d like to work closely with them in the development of MusicianCorps L.A.,” Gallagher said..

Redgate is the executive and program manager for the Music National Service and has been working with Gallagher since the inception of MusicianCorps.

“Students (in Los Angeles) … need an opportunity to fulfill their potential (and) to find some alternative programming that engages them in schools,” Redgate said. “Especially with experiential learning, really pulling them out of their comas in their classrooms and kind of engaging them in something that brings them to life and brings their 21st century skills to head.”

Redgate recognizes that projects such as MusicianCorps not only help the kids directly, they also contribute to the community at large.

“In my experience … I would really see how kids, when they are given a service project or when they are given something to deliver to their community … They become really involved with their community, they step up to the plate in certain circumstances, especially in public schools,” Redgate said.

Greenblatt cites a shared passion for music as the motivation behind his involvement with MusicianCorps.

“Music is a big part of my life, my family life. It’s everywhere. Considering how important music is to the enjoyment of everyone, I think making sure that young people have the opportunities to learn music as an art and as a craft is really important to a healthy society,” Greenblatt said.

“In the same way that food doesn’t grow in the grocery store, music just doesn’t appear in your iPod. Everything we can do to educate and enable young people to get in touch with their own musical abilities (is) a wonderful thing.”