NAMM 2015: Turnaround study touts benefits of arts education for kids

LA Times, Randy Lewis… Though topics at the National Assn. of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention in Anaheim most often trend toward musicians, musical instruments and how they interact, one panel at the annual industry gathering tilted in a decidedly socially conscious direction. Actress Alfre Woodard remembered 7-year-olds in New Orleans recounting fearsome memories of a family member being shot during a neighborhood gun battle. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith recalled the joy on the faces of children of migrant workers in California’s Central Valley when he delivered a carload  of donated musical instruments to their school. Singer-songwriter Clarence Greenwood (a.k.a. Citizen Cope) talked of watching hopelessness turn into hope among children on a Native American reservation in rural Montana. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-turnaround-arts-study-education-arts-music-public-schools-20150123-story.html