Desert Music Academy

Desert Music Academy (DMA) provides music education and performance opportunities for children with mental, physical, and economic disabilities in the Coachella Valley. DMA provides traditional private music lessons as well as Musical Braille instruction. DMA students actively perform for Coachella Valley organizations such as retirement homes, special events, and at the Braille Institute of Rancho Mirage. Many possible performance locations lack an in-house piano such as the Rotary Club meetings, Village Fest, and fundraising events in private homes. This kind gift from the Anderson Children's Foundation of a quality electric piano now enables DMA to:

• Perform in any venue and teach music technology (track recording and studio music production) in conjunction with our traditional methods and our classical education values.
• Teach group classes on any instrument in any venue as the piano is often used as a teaching aid and accompaniment tool.
• Include the repertoire of "4 hand 2 piano" works into our curriculum.
• Produce musical stage productions.

DMA thanks Anderson Children's Foundation for a quality instrument and protective case that will serve our students for many years to come. It will benefit countless children over its lifetime.

Desert Music Academy provides a place for children in the Coachella Valley to learn and explore music while making lifelong friendships. The program offers piano and guitar lessons to students year-round, with no required achievement level or prior musical experience. In an economic climate where music programs face budget cuts, Desert Music Academy fills the growing need for music education.

Project Reach Out specifically serves children from ages 5-18 in the Coachella Valley, from Desert Hot Springs to Indio. This program, true to its name, reaches out to students who excel in academic and musical knowledge, but lack the resources to pursue their gift. Participants receive weekly private and/or group instruction with local professionals in either piano, guitar, or voice. Students also have the opportunity to showcase their talent by performing in a minimum of two public recitals each year.

Finally, Desert Music Academy empowers its students to give back to their community. In addition to musical recitals and choral productions, participants volunteer their time by performing at senior centers, hospitals, and hospices. The result is mutually beneficial: students get to practice, and the underprivileged are treated to a delightful concert free of cost.