Music is Art will once again provide a professional atmosphere for local musicians and artists to perform in the 4th Annual Music is Art Festival in Allentown. Nearly 70,000 residents and visitors will descend into Buffalo for the two-day music and arts festival. From itis humble beginnings as a iWhat do you think if we…?i exhibit of local artistry, hosting an audience of 3500 in 2003, Music Is Art, has now become the premier showcase for local music, art, and dance.
Set in the Allentown district, the festival will be held Saturday, June 10th and Sunday, June11th from 1:00P to 11:00P. This year weive added the Kidis Village (10,000 sq Ft of interactive fun), a live art display, and a wine & beer garden. Performances are FREE to the public. Proceeds from this yearis festival benefits the Music is Art Festival, thus keeping the event free for years to come.
Incorporated in 2004, Music is Art is a grass roots movement conceived as a means to keep music and art alive in the Buffalo schools. It has since expanded to include awareness initiatives such as:
~ The High School Awareness Tour, which is a music-based motivational assembly focusing on personal responsibility. To date, the tour has been invited to 28 schools and performed before more than 35,000 high school students.
~ Instrument Drive A community involved musical instrument collection for redistribution to local schools. We are proud that this out reach has placed more than $100,000 worth of refurbished instruments in needy schools.
~ Event Programming, which is a co-production of community based events such as iRockini at the Knox,i a fund raiser for the world renown Albright-Knox art gallery and iParty for the Parks,i which helps raise money for the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.
MUSIC IS ART is Community Outreach, which provides music-based programming to assist in local not-for-profit fund raising efforts. In 2005, Music is Art releases a CD, iMusic is Hope,i to help raise funds for Summit Academy, a facility specializing in the needs of developmentally challenged children focusing on Autism.
Now entering its fourth year, our festival has grown from 3,500 curiosity seekers, to 75,000 fans from throughout Western New York and Southern Ontario. The festival features the finalists of a Teen Battle of the Band; and event organized through schools. 2005 saw a rare first as Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls performed live with students from a local high school. This year Daisy Rock Guitar endorser Lisa Love will host a series of ihand-oni clinics for pre-teen & teen festival attendees.
For more information visit www.musicisart.org
Or call (716) 886-6300 or 716.886-3540
Music is Art Philosophy
Give a child an instrument and a stage and that child will speak louder, more intelligently and more passionately with and because of music. It is a simple truth. And, the driving force behind Music is Art.
Whether or not we have had formal training, each of us is a musician. We whistle at work, we sing along to the radio in the car; we add our voice at church, and absentmindedly tap out a beat while standing in line. While it seems redundant to say that music is the soundtrack of our lives, imagine a world without it. From songs on the radio to music in commercials; from the rousing anthems in an arena, to the gentle musical ambience of a restaurant, music is everywhere. It is inextricably woven into the fabric of our existence. And, it has been that way for centuries. Long before Gutenberg, songs were our means of communication. It was how we told our stories, how we documented our cultures, and how we passed our histories and lore form generation to generation. Even today the diversity of our culture is reflected in and archived by our music. It is no small coincidence that each generation can look to music to find an example of a seminal moment or event in their history.
Music is also the great equalizer. While race may define genres or styles of music, music is colorblind to the song within each and every one of us. And unlike sports, music does not require a prototype physique to assure success. Blindness did not dim Ray Charles fire, and deafness did not silence Beethovenis voice. In fact, music was the very thing that lifted them beyond those limitations.
Music is Art believes that no one should be denied his or her musical voice. As a person, as a community, and as a culture it is our need, responsibility, and obligation to pass along our history and language to those who follow.