Guitarist Dave McHenry, member of Local 4, gives his approval to the next generation of sognwriters

The Local 4 Music Fund, a nonprofit organization run by Local 4 (Cleveland, OH), just concluded its fourth annual Academic Residency Calendar (ARC) partnership with local government and arts and philanthropic organizations to present music residencies in Cuyahoga and Lorain County, Ohio.

The generous support of the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, and additional grants from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the Cyrus Eaton Foundation, and Green Family Foundation, have allowed ARC to expand its footprint this year. The educational partners cover every corner of Local 4’s jurisdiction.

“As supporters of both arts and education in Northeast Ohio, we value the experience and enrichment activities the Local 4 partners bring to students. Incorporating arts, in particular music, into the school day and learning process is critical in educating the whole child,” states Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation Trustee Holley Fowler Martens.

At the Rainey Institute, a three-day residency with the Percussion Marketing Council (PMC) brought percussion education and experience to more than 50 students. Three different programs brought a better understanding of the many unique instruments and sounds associated with drums, percussion, and player-performance.

Each student received his or her own shaker egg, provided by the Clevelander Drum Company. Complimentary educational DVDs and

In back (L to R) are Local 4 percussionists Dan Price, Jay Ganser, George Kiteley, and Karl Dustman with Rainey Institute students.

brochures were also distributed by the PMC and the NAMM Foundation. PMC Executive Director (and Local 4 member) Karl Dustman says, “The Percussion Marketing Council is honored to lend its support to the Local 4 Music Fund for this first-time drumming experience. The Rainey Institute is the perfect venue to reach as many children as possible.” The residency program included Dustman demonstrating basic instruction/playing techniques, a performance by Duo Anime, and an all-hands-on drum circle.

Roots of American Music educational artists presented a roots to rock program that helped students write and perform their own songs over the course of five classroom visits. Students were exposed to traditional American music styles such as blues, jazz, rock, and country. The students then selected a song style to accompany their own original lyrics. A final performance with a band of professional musicians allowed students to showcase their songs.

Blue Water Chamber Orchestra has been an annual partner since ARC’s inception. Highlights of their fall residencies at Saint Ignatius High School were: classroom instruction integrating music and theory into history, physics, and theology lessons; lunchtime performances by classical chamber ensembles; and all-school assemblies by the chamber orchestra.

Soprano Pat Harris, accompanied by pianist Dan Maier, bassist Bob Fraser, and drummer Mark Grey, perform for attentive students at Campus International School.

This February, Waterloo Arts became an ARC partner for Black History Month at the Campus International School at Cleveland State University.
A program with soprano Pat Harris performing operatic arias, art, and popular songs of several American eras, from the Reconstruction Era to present day, was interspersed with historical anecdotes to bring multiple contexts to the music.

“In addition to providing our musicians with employment opportunities, the expansion of our nonprofit programs strengthens and improves the role of a labor union to its members and community. We are pleased to attract positive attention for the AFM, Local 4, and the organized labor movement in general,” says Local 4 President Leonard DiCosimo.