Music & Arts Partnership Fosters an Appreciation for Music

May 12th, 2015

The Howard County Public School System is partnering with Music & Arts to support musical opportunities for HCPSS students and staff. The partnership was formalized with an official partnership signing Wednesday, May 13.

Music & Arts will collaborate with HCPSS staff to conduct instrument demonstrations for elementary schools and assist in transportation of instruments for countywide adjudications. Music & Arts also will sponsor an annual instrument repair clinic for music staff, sponsor a national clinician to speak at HCPSS professional development day and donate repair services for the Each Child Has Opportunities project, which provide musical instruments to children in need. This partnership is aligned with Vision 2018 strategies to provide opportunities for students to build competencies in the arts.

Howard County Board of Education Members Sandra French and Cynthia Vaillancourt; and HCPSS Music Instructional Facilitator Terry Eberhardt joined Music & Arts Director of Sales Zach Viccica, Director of Sales Matt Griffith, School Services District Manager Brian Rotz, and Educational Representative Christine Martin to sign the formal partnership agreement at the May 13 event.

Music & Arts has been owned and operated since 1952 by the O’Brien family. Music & Arts now has more than 500 retail and affiliate locations and 120 educational representatives, and provides over 27,000 lessons to students each year, making it the nation’s largest school music retailer and lesson provider.

The Howard County Public School System’s Partnerships Office unites businesses and community organizations with schools to enhance the educational experience. Partnerships benefit schools, businesses, and the entire community by leveraging the resources of all participants. Partners may commit human or financial resources or other support.

For more information, contact Partnerships Office Manager Mary Schiller at 410-313-6655 or mary_schiller@hcpss.org.