“Music and Kids will be the engine that will provide qualified instructors to develop and implement arts-related activities through our Gabriel’s House program,” stated Palmdale’s Director of Neighborhood Services Mike Miller.
For more than five years, Gabriel’s House has provided free musical instruments, equipment and instruction to youth ages 8 to 18, thanks to financial donations by groups such the Warnack Foundation and the AV Business Expo. Instructors have volunteered their time.
Under the new partnership, Music and Kids will take the lead in providing quality instruction and programming at no charge to the participating youth.
“Especially for music lessons where individualizing the lesson is so important, having students learning in a one-on-one environment with a paid, qualified instructor provides a much more stable program for both the students and the teachers,” state singer-songwriter and recording artist Chuck Murphy, who founded Music and Kids in 2016.
Fundraising efforts are underway to provide adequate staffing to meet the needs and provide learning opportunities for the students. Donations for Gabriel’s House programming may be made at www.musicandkids.org.
In spring 2019, the Gabriel’s House program will move from the Neighborhood House location on 6th St. East to its new location at Courson Arts Colony East, located at 939 East Avenue Q-12 in Palmdale.
For more information, visit www.musicandkids.org/contact.html.
About Gabriel’s House
The Palmdale City Council voted unanimously to approve the dedication of a Neighborhood House, “Gabriel’s House,” in memory of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who died in 2013 after prolonged abuse. Gabriel’s House serves as a music, visual and performing arts center to provide children in the area with the opportunity to develop their creative talents.
[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]
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