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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer, Former Yankee Lobby For Music Education

 

The Washington Post (3/19, Brown) reports that Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and former New York Yankee Bernie Williams "went to public schools that nurtured their passion for music. And now both of them are in Washington, headed to Capitol Hill this week to lobby for music education for kids across the country." The Post quotes Smith saying that music programs kept him from dropping out, and notes that the "annual lobbying event is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants, which aims to persuade federal lawmakers that music education is far from frivolous." The advocates are calling on Congress to give ED more flexibility in education cuts.
 
Rolling Stone (3/20, Flanary) also covers this story, noting that Smith "will join jazz guitarist (and ex-New York Yankee) Bernie Williams on behalf of the National Association of Music Merchants to demand a stronger national presence for music instruction in the classroom. Their visit comes one week after Senate Democrats and House Republicans released opposing budgets, and at a time when the National Education Association union expects the sequester to slice more than $4 billion in spending from the Department of Education and Head Start."

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