New York, NY (Top40 Charts/
John Lennon Educational Tour Bus) - Yoko Ono Lennon kept John's legacy alive by kicking off 2010 with a press conference at NAMM, the international music products association, supporting music education in celebration of Lennon's 70th birthday.
Quincy Jones and
Jackson Browne joined Yoko in speaking out supporting the importance of music education on behalf of American youth. Students from South Central Los Angeles' Fernando Pullum Performing Arts School performed a medley of Lennon songs, kicking off with 'Imagine,' with Rickey Minor, the musical director of American Idol and Fishbone.
Yoko is utilizing this year to celebrate John's legacy and is showing her continued support of music education and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, which gives students across the country free hands-on access to music and the digital arts.
As Yoko stated, 'John's voice was unique and beautiful and his voice is still here traveling all over the United States on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, so that students across the country can make music.'
'The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit outreach program with the mission of giving kids a chance to express themselves through music and video productions,' she said. 'It has been a living legacy to John's passion for musical expression and artistic freedom. By utilizing the on-the-road John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and its fine studio set-up, thousands of students have written, recorded and produced original songs and videos - students who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to explore these avenues of creativity. At a time with music education in the schools is facing tough funding challenges, the Bus has been a rolling testament to the enduring, positive power of music making.'
The students from the Fernando Pullum Performing Arts School performed a medley of Lennon tunes at the event. The students are a shining example of what music education can do. In an area of Los Angeles where only 30% of students graduate from high school, 100% of Fernando's students graduate from high school, and 99% have gone on to college. To learn how to keep music in your local community, go to www.supportmusic.com, a non-profit outreach initiative of the NAMM Foundation.
EMI Music will also commemorate John Lennon's 70th birthday with special edition music releases, to be announced soon.
