2022 Grant Recipient
The Louisville Leopard Percussionists
AWARD: $100,000
FOCUS AREA: ARTS & CULTURE
PROJECT: New Instruments, Expanded Programming
PROJECT IMPACT: With the suite of instruments funded by this grant, we can double the number of children we serve each year and introduce a new academic program, Leopard Learners.
Organization Statement: To provide a comprehensive musical experience for children that enriches lives and builds community.
Major Recent Successes:
- Dozens of appearances at state and national conventions
- Teacher honors including Most Admired Woman in Louisville Education
- 30 years of students becoming well-rounded adults and community leaders
How this funding will impact this organization:
Ordinary kids transformed by extraordinary musical experiences - that's what the Louisville Leopards have been doing since 1993.
Children from diverse backgrounds learn different styles of music, performance skills and proficiency on percussion instruments. they learn to improvise, compose, and teach music, and to care for their instruments. These skills build creativity and self-confidence and teach life-long values of personal discipline, cooperation, leadership, responsibility and community.
Eight ensembles use the same instruments 5 days a week. A second set of instruments will allow us to double the number of children we serve, expand existing programs, and provide new programs for a new audience.
We will also be able to introduce the "Leopard Learners" a partnership with JCPS. We will take the program directly to schools, prividing both a music lesson and a tutoring session at no cost each week. This program will be a fundamentally new approach to our mission, where we provide music education to a school with no music of its own.
Playing musical instruments can improve memory, increase focus, activate the language center of the brain, improve social connections and personal expression, and i aligns with JCPS goals of improving reading and social readiness.
Wish List:
- Allergy-free Snacks
- Office Supplies
- Fans/Air Conditioners