Making Music Happen Since 2009
Today, Musack's mission is to give kids and teens a voice through music by providing guitars, drums, and support for music teachers - wherever the need arises.
But back in 2009, writer/producer Donick Cary (Letterman/Simpsons/Parks and Recreation/Silicon Valley) began Musack with a simple vision: to raise money to fund musical programs for his hometown high school on Nantucket Island. After a rash of teen suicides on the island, Donick thought about how he and his friends got through their teen years. Music.
Enter Musack, which began providing Nantucket’s high schoolers with guitars and music lessons as a way to help them tell their stories. Taking our cue from the kids, we quickly expanded to include drums and other music and arts programs. Our programs then quickly spread to a variety of different locales:
Nantucket High Schoolers with their guitars in 2009.
Nantucket
Musack continues to expand right in Nantucket with guitar and drum lessons at the Nantucket Boys and Girls Club, podcast and rap programs at the Nantucket Community Music Center, and contributions to support plays like Lion King Jr. and Elf at Cyrus Peirce Middle School.
Compton + LA
In 2015, Musack was ready to expand geographically. We had just thrown our fourth Rock n' Roll Carnival and were ready to spread the music, so we helped Whaley Middle School rock out with a drumline and donated guitars and an instructor to start after-school guitar classes at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES). In 2017, we've added two Larchmont Charter School locations with drums and keyboards. In 2018, we began funding In The Band’s program at Pio Pico Middle school and offering scholarships for each session of Kid Row!
Appalachia
Starting in 2016, Musack began supporting a program at Folk School JAM in North Carolina for guitar and fiddle. Some of the kids wanted banjos to express themselves too, so 2017 brought new banjo players in Appalachia! So far, 2018 has brought a new upright bass to our North Carolina friends!
Haiti
Also new in 2016 - making music happen in Haiti! We've recently donated guitars, pianos, and an instructor to the Haitian American Caucus: Haiti to create rockers out of the students and orphans there. Coming in 2019 - a concert band collaboration between Musack and 610 Project!
Alaska
In April of 2017, Musack braved the cold to deliver guitars to the Galena Interior Learning Academy. Galena is completely isolated and tiny and the kids come from smaller isolated native villages. GILA is a public school, with tough budget decisions to make for funding their art programs, but in a place without businesses that is so isolated, music is extra important... so Musack stepped in.
Native American Southwest
Also in 2017, Musack delivered guitars to music Programs on Native American Reservations including Acoma, Apache, and the Native American Music Fund on the Navajo Reservation. We also dropped guitars at the Santa Fe Indian School, a public boarding school serving 19 pueblos. We visited in 2018 and have some great updates on the Native American Music Fund’s progress!
Chattanooga
Musack has begun partnering with the Songbirds Foundation in 2017. We provide the guitars and they teach lessons to kids in Children's Hospital of Erlanger and the YMCA Chattanooga. Musack has since donated 400+ guitars to Songbirds’ expansion into Hamilton County and Nashville public schools.
Tampa
When we heard about Lee Elementary burning down in a fire caused by Hurricane Irma aftermath, we wanted to help replenish their music department by delivering new recorders and guitars!
Oakland
3 O’Clock Rock is an after school music program for kids and adults in Oakland, CA with classes in analog recording, drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, and even cartooning and film production. Musack provides scholarships for kids and teens to be able to rock in this program! And new in 2020 - the Musack sponsored Time Out for Fun with Francis Lau! Francis is a student from Three O’Clock Rock passing on his keyboard skills and love for Devo in this new video series!
Pine Ridge
Musack is happy to now help empower Lakota girls at the Anpo Wicahpi Pine Ridge Girls’ School! Musack provides guitars and keyboards to the girls in Pine Ridge, SD!
El Salvador
In 2019, we traveled to El Salvador along with Glasswing and One Kid One World and delivered guitars to a school being built there!
What's Next?
We're always on the lookout for places where we can empower kids with a creative voice and always raising the funds to make that happen. If you know of a place where there are kids in need, tell us! If you want to help us make music happen, donate here!