Raphael Saadiq Supports The Roots of Music!

HELP SAVE THE FUTURE OF NEW ORLEANS MUSIC

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Roots Performs with Galactic!

The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders got funky with Galactic!
June 9th 2010
The YLC Wednesday At The Square
finale event was a
super hot show!
The Soul Rebels with our own Mr. Lee set the tone and got the crowd into the groove for some funk! The guys from Galactic performed with Cyril Neville and then introduced the crowd to The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders! The kids performance was spectacular! Even Ben Ellman the sax player for the group was blown away! A huge Thank You! goes out to YLC, Galactic, The Soul Rebels and all of the fans that attended!

Benefit for The Roots of Music

On Saturday May 29th
Tim Robbins Actor/Musician
Hosted a benefit for The Roots of Music at The Republic
The benefit had and unbelievable line-up of musicians from New Orleans! Ani Difranco, Jon Cleary, Dr. John, Anders Osborne,
CC Adcock, The Preservation Hall Jazz Masters, ReBirth Brass Band, and our very own The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders! The event was a great success and we would like to thank all of those that came out to show support for Roots! Tim Robbins was awarded a drum major staff as a symbol of appreciation for all of the generous work he donated to the benefits planning, preparation, and performances. He truly is a shining star in the hearts of the Roots family!

Gambit Weekly article

The Gambit Weekly ran a cover story about Roots of Music this week. That's the good news. The bad news is that the article is about the dire need for money to keep the program going.

We need your help!
Donate here via PayPal now.

parade recap

What an amazing Mardi Gras parade season for the Roots of Music marching band!

The Crusaders drum major RoRo led the band in 6 parades this season.

Roots of Music director Derrick Tabb made sure that the band members lined up in straight rows, held their instruments properly, and stayed together in step.

Roots of Music band members, chaperones, and music instructors were also honored to march in the Superbowl victory parade for the Saints. Only the city's most elite bands were invited to participate in the largest parade in New Orleans history... What a night!


The Studio G dance team held it down all Mardi Gras! Thanks so much!


And a special thanks to all the volunteer chaperones for keeping order on the parade route and making sure everything ran smoothly.

Signing off for this Mardi Gras season: keep your eyes and ears open for the Roots of Music Crusaders coming up at Jazz Fest and elsewhere.

Mardi Gras!

I've been on break from this blog for far too long, but Roots of Music has been keeping busy in preparation for the Mardi Gras parade season...

On Friday, Director Derrick Tabb led the final rehearsal before the first parade of the season.

Mr. Givens oversees the color guard.

Vernon Lewis helps Squeaky with some last minute adjustments before boarding the bus and heading to the parade.

Stay tuned for another update direct from the parade route!

In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for the Roots of Music Crusaders at the following parades:

Feb 9 - WHO DAT (Saints Superbowl parade!)
Feb 11 - Muses
Feb 13 - Nomtoc (West Bank)
Feb 14 - Bacchus
Feb 15 - Orpheus

Top 10 CNN Hero!

Roots of Music director Derrick Tabb has made it to the Top 1o of "CNN Heroes":



VOTE FOR DERRICK HERE!!!

Hello Laura!

Roots of Music welcomes intern Laura Taishoff to our musical community! Laura is from Katonah, NY, and she comes to New Orleans through the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, thanks to a grant from the B'Nai Israel congregation in Baton Rouge, with administrative support from Tulane University.

We're thrilled to have Laura here, and Laura is thrilled to take charge of the academic tutoring program at Roots of Music and help out anywhere she can. Soon we'll have some facts & figures about the academic advancements of our students... of course, their musical advancements speak for themselves.

Laura will be posting on this blog, so stay tuned for her updates...

Intern Laura Taishoff with students Ian Green (l) and Gregory Davis (r).

Derrick Tabb = CNN Hero!

Roots of Music executive director Derrick Tabb was named a CNN Hero this weekend! You may have seen Mr. Tabb, as the students respectfully call him, on Larry King Live and all over CNN. In case you missed it, here are the stories that aired...

Find out more about CNN Hero Derrick Tabb here.

Many thanks!

If you watched CNN over the July 4th weekend, you may have seen this great piece about Roots of Music...



Thanks to reporter Fredricka Whitfield and everyone at CNN!

And many, many thanks also to the Louisiana State Museum for providing Roots of Music with a new rehearsal space! The students are now practicing in the spacious and historic Cabildo building in the heart of the French Quarter.


A final thanks to Madelyn Bonnot of the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, who made a personal donation to help keep Roots of Music going strong.

L-R: Keisha Carmouche, Madelyn Bonnot, Derrick Tabb, Lawrence Rawlins

Much gratitude for all those who've given their support to Roots of Music.

News Makers

Tonight Roots of Music was featured on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Check it out here:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

At the same time that the news was airing nationwide, the band was parading through the fairgrounds of the New Orleans Jazz Festival:


The word is out. We still need your help, so give it up!

Mardi Gras!

Roots of Music made their debut at the Mardi Gras parades this week. The band had the crowds cheering along the sidewalk and neutral ground for the Pygmalion and Alla parades.

The students have been anticipating the Mardi Gras season for months and once they hit the pavement they never skipped a beat. And they looked as good as they sounded in their new black and gold uniforms. All along the parade route we heard: "Which band is that?" "Where's that band from?"

After the parade, the students, teachers, and parent volunteers were beaming with pride. And exhausted. Be sure to look for Roots of Music at the Muses, Bacchus, and Orpheus parades, and contact us anytime about donations or enrollment.

Taking it to the Streets

The Roots of Music band has begun marching practice in preparation for the Mardi Gras season. The select members of the program who have spent months learning their parts are now taking it to the streets for the first time. Keep an eye out for official debut of the Roots of Music band at the Mardi Gras parades, starting with Pygmalion on Friday, February 13. We weren't able to purchase full uniforms for the band, but we have some special outfits on the way thanks to the support of the parents' booster club and an anonymous donor.

The 2009 Roots of Music Mardi Gras parade schedule:
Friday, Feb. 13 @ 7pm: Pygmalion
Sunday, Feb. 15 @ noon: Alla (Jefferson)
Thursday, Feb. 19 @ 6:15pm: Muses
Sunday, Feb. 22 @ 5:15pm: Bacchus
Monday, Feb. 23 @ 6pm: Orpheus

Let the Games Begin!

The Roots of Music drum section has begun performing around New Orleans and the response from audiences has been fantastic! Tonight, the drummers took to the stage of One Eyed Jack's to play for the Camel Toe Lady Steppers fundraiser.


The ladies made a generous donation to RoM last year and tonight they were able to witness the results of their support. Drum instructor Shoan Ruffin had the students playing their cadences with discipline.


After the show, the drummers headed home to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow. The band is gearing up for the Mardi Gras parade season starting in February. Thanks to all the Camel Toe Lady Steppers for keeping the beat alive!

Music Rising Donation

Roots of Music has received a donation of musical instruments worth over of $20,000! The gift came from Music Rising and was administered by the Gibson Foundation and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

As you can see, the students at RoM are already putting this generous gift to use!

The students had a surprise waiting for them when they got off the bus in their school uniforms... shiny new trumpets.


The drummers love their new Ludwig snare and tenor drums. Playing cadences on these is way more fun than banging on banquet tables.


The horn players have new trumpets, mellophones, and sousaphones from Jupiter. Here instructor Edward Lee goes over a complicated tuba part.

Thanks again to the kind folks at Music Rising, the Gibson Foundation, and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation for helping keep the drums beating and horns blowing in New Orleans.

We also received enormous support this year from the Jubilation Foundation, Tipitina’s Foundation, Sweet Home New Orleans, D'Addario Foundation, B'Nai Israel Baton Rouge, Ludwig, Hudson Music, and many more.

For the moment, RoM is humming along with instruments, but we are in need of donations to ensure that students can attend the classes for no charge. Buses and teacher salaries make up the vast majority of our budget. Help us out by donating here. (Please indicate Roots of Music in the PayPal form).

Our Home at Grace Episcopal Church

Band Director Lawrence Rawlins shows a new RoM student how to hold a trumpet.

The Roots of Music program has found a long-term home at the Grace Episcopal Church at 3700 Canal Street in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans. Program Director Derrick Tabb has always wanted RoM on Canal Street, which is the dividing line between the Uptown and Downtown districts that separate the young people of the city. Thanks to Father Bill Terry and everyone at Grace Church for providing a safe and nurturing place for students from every corner of New Orleans to get together.

Roots of Music welcomes our newest Instructor Neva Joseph, who oversees Music Theory, Ear Training, and Voice. Thanks Neva!

Summer Break

Roots of Music students and instructors are taking the next two weeks off to prepare for our full program, which begins at the start of the school year in the last week of August. (If you're interested in enrolling a 9 to 14 year-old student in Orleans Parish, sumbit this form here.)

On the final day of the Summer program, everyone hopped on a bus and headed out to Riverview Park.

All summer, the students have been practicing their marching formations and drills in the wide open fields overlooking the Mississippi River.


Then Derrick announces "fun time" and the games begin. A few weeks ago, the students in the brass and drum sections took on the instructors in a game of football. Luckily for the students, the teachers won!


After everyone works up an appetite, they head over to the cafeteria table. This week the great folks at Slice Pizzeria donated pizza for all the students, teachers, and volunteers. Thanks to manager Dave Greengold and everyone at Slice!

Sock Hop

Last Thursday the parents' booster club threw a Sock Hop for Roots of Music students and their families. The students had a great time on the dance floor at Tipitina's, especially when the Baby Boyz Brass Band took the stage.


Did Miss Regina stop working and enjoy the music and the dancing? Nope. She was working as usual, cooking up a storm for the students like she does every day at the Roots of Music rehearsals. Shout out to Miss Regina!


Finally, we want to thank one of our many volunteers, Ronni Armstead, for helping keep Roots of Music going. Ronni was visiting this summer from Duke University and she helped Miss Regina keep the students well fed. Thanks Ready-Red!


We've been to busy to update everyone about our goings on, but more posts to come shortly...

Relocation to the Contemporary Arts Center

Band Director Lawrence Rawlins directs the RoM brass section.

Today, the Roots of Music program moved to the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), where we will hold music classes for the next six weeks. At the CAC facilities, the students and teachers have some room to stretch out. The drums, woodwinds, lower brass, and upper brass each have their own room to rehearse in, which helps everyone concentrate on their parts (and helps us volunteers save what's left of our hearing!).

Shoan Ruffin has the drummers beating on tables in a dance studio.

Allen Dejan's woodwind section has grown to 12 students in just a few weeks.

Program Director Derrick Tabb is thrilled with the facilities at CAC.

Thanks to the CAC for agreeing to host the program for the next six weeks! And thanks again to Tipitina's for helping launch the program and letting us be their guest for the first six weeks! Consider enrolling in Roots of Music or making a donation here.

More Good News

Check out this article about Roots of Music by Alison Fensterstock in the New Orleans Gambit Weekly...

Root Causes, June 24, 2008