Silence Is Violence

February 25 update

Date: Thu, Mar. 06, 2008

February 25, 2008

Hi, everyone--

We are very excited to be writing to tell you that our

SilenceIsViolence programs are starting up again for the spring, beginning with our Youth Music Clinics, which will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, February 26.

Those of you who attended our Youth Music Clinics in the fall know how great they were. Under the leadership of Music Director Shamarr Allen, we were able to reach dozens of children through the power of music, bringing together youth from diverse musical, educational, and economic backgrounds. These kids learned fundamental musical skills on the donated instruments we provided; they worked one-on-one and performed each week with some of the premier professional musicians in New Orleans; and they had the opportunity to participate in public (paid!) gigs upon completion of the series.

This semester, we look forward to the continued success of the clinics. We rely upon the community's support to carry these events off, so please do contact us through our website, www.silenceisviolence.org, if you can contribute money or instruments to the effort. We can already thank the New Orleans Radical Faeries for an early donation toward the clinics. Also, our main sponsors, the Threadheads, a group of Jazz Fest enthusiasts who have adopted the Youth Music Clinics as their major philanthropy this year, have pledged continued support. The Threadheads will be bringing our kids from the fall and spring series to Jazz Fest, and showcasing our young musicians at their annual Jazz Fest party this year!

We invite anyone who wants to spend a postive, music-filled evening to join us on upcoming Tuesdays.

Here are the details:

WHAT: SilenceIsViolence Spring 2008 Youth Music Clinics

WHEN: Tuesdays, February 26-April 15, 6-8pm

WHERE: Sound Cafe, 2700 Chartres St. in the Marigny

COST: Free

You will be hearing from us more frequently again, with updates on our activities related to criminal justice, law enforcement, and neighborhood-based safety. But as we all know, there is no more important element in the development of long-term public safety than the nurturing of young New Orleanians and the inclusion of young people in productive societal and cultural activities. So it is fitting that we start up our spring activities with our program most focused on those young people, and we hope to see many of you at our Youth Music Clinics in the coming weeks--

Ken and Baty

www.silenceisviolence.org