Yamaha Joins Forces with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation

Yamaha Corporation of America, in partnership with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, presented students and teachers at Dale Jr. High School in Anaheim, California, with 22 new Yamaha keyboards to help support music education programming at the school. 

The presentation event, which took place on February 16, 2017, celebrated the culmination of the Yamaha “Share the Gift” campaign to help underfunded music programs throughout the United States.

Yamaha Vice President and Keyboard General Manager Paul Calvin, along with Tricia Steele, program director for the Studio-City based Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, personally delivered the keyboards during a music class at the school. 

This donated instruments will offer students the opportunity to practice their musical skills every day, rather than taking turns practicing a couple of times a week, as they had previously. 

“Yamaha believes in the transformational power of music, so it is gratifying to contribute to the success of the music program at Dale Jr. High School,” said Paul Calvin of Yamaha. “With ready access to high-quality musical instruments, these students will not only accelerate the mastery of their musical skills, but they will also have a greater opportunity to enjoy the proven social, emotional and intellectual benefits that music education provides.” 

Yamaha placed a rallying call to music makers everywhere, asking them to join its “Share the Gift” campaign to support music education in schools throughout the U.S. during the 2016 holiday season. The campaign encouraged musicians of all levels to create a short video of themselves playing one of 15 classic holiday songs on either a Yamaha piano or keyboard, and then posting it to Twitter or Instagram. 

For every video that was posted with the hashtag #YamahaShareTheGift, Yamaha committed to donate a keyboard (up to 300 total) to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, who are committed to providing the musical instruments to underfunded music programs nationwide, giving economically disadvantaged youth access to the many benefits of music education. 183 qualifying videos were submitted on Twitter and Instagram, meaning 183 total keyboards will be donated to schools throughout the country. Watch some of the submissions at http://4wrd.it/ShareTheGift.

“We’re thrilled to work with the Yamaha team this year to give a big boost to Dale Jr. High’s stellar music program with this keyboard donation,” said Felice Mancini, president and CEO, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. “Yamaha created a meaningful way for fans to express their holiday gratitude and share the joy of playing music to others. We’re happy to have chosen the schools to receive this bounty of exceptional instruments, that will be played by students for generations to come. Well done, Yamaha!”

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