Interview with John DeNovi, DCI’s Senior Director of Global Business Development, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022.

Can you tell me about the beginnings of DCI?

DCI dates back to 1972, when it was formed as a way to bring a number of different competitive associations that were in existence at the time under a single set of rules and governance. There was the American Legion, the VFW, there were contests being held by the Catholic Youth Organizations, and there were a lot of independent events. Groups that were performing in a lot of those events wanted to form a league to look after themselves and help plan a national tour and a championship. So, DCI was founded, and set out to help those groups market themselves and to come together and have competitions and train judges and put a rules system in place so that they could have consistency coast to coast.

Can you tell me a little bit about your goals as an organization, and how you grow and reach out to get more people involved? 

Our mission statement is to bring the marching arts to more people worldwide by creating a stage and creating the environment for that to occur. 

When DCI was founded in 1972 there were a number of small, independent corps that would literally take kids off the street, put an instrument in their hand and teach them by rote, and it served that purpose of getting kids off the street and doing positive things. As DCI progressed through the years, and became more and more developed, it started to really gravitate towards the elite end of the spectrum. In the last 10-15 years DCI got so elite that those kids that we used to take off the street were being left behind. So, we backfilled and created some new opportunities and new programs to identify ways that we could continue to bring as many people as possible into the activity, regardless of their economic status or skill level, or the time commitment that they could put forth. We created two programs, one was called Drum Line Battle, the other was called Sound Sport, and both of those are designed to give young people, and kids of all ages access, so anybody of any age on any instrument or economic status can participate in a DCI program, and do it in a much more affordable way.

That is fantastic! Do people move from these programs into other groups in DCI, if they become serious about playing music? 

Absolutely. It has become an on ramp. If your goal is to one day be at the elite level, you can go and get the training at one of the smaller developing groups, work on your skills, and then progress to the higher ranked competitive groups. We have already seen some groups who started several years ago and have graduated and are performing very competitively in DCI’s open class. We are really excited to see that ability for us to plant seeds and grow roots with groups that don’t have to have such a financial commitment from the outset.

What is your vision for DCI in the next few years? 

We are celebrating our 50th anniversary season in 2022. With all of the momentum that we had prior to covid, we then hit a speed bump; the 2020 season was completely cancelled, 2021 was a return to the field but with a limited tour schedule, so we took a cautious approach to coming back. This year we are pretty much back, so we are ready to move forward, to continue to look for ways we can provide more diversity, equity and inclusion, and that is going to come from sharing our stage and reaching out to groups within the HBCU world, which we have successfully done this past summer. We will continue to work on that, and we are continuing to expand our international reach.  

Interview with AFTA Chief of Staff Daniel Fitzmaurice, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022.

Can you tell me a little bit about AFTA, and what the organization does?

We are a national arts service organization, really focused on building visibility and recognition about the value of the arts. Sometimes that manifests itself in the advocacy space, learning and training, research is a big area of our work as well, and perhaps most uniquely we work across the whole country and for any type of creative practice, artists or arts workers. There is no disciplinary boundary, no geographical boundary, it’s all in! 

How did this organization begin? 

AFTA in its present form represents a couple of organizations that came together in the late 90s. Together, they’ve been around for well over 60 years, about the same time as the local arts agency movement in this country. Part of it was to say that we need a national outlet to serve all of these local arts agencies that were forming, and then the other was this idea that we needed a national voice to speak for the arts in the political arena across the country. We have also added a business and arts component over the years from another organization that came in and nationalized with us, so it has very much evolved as the ecosystem has evolved, and the infrastructure of the ecosystem has evolved in this country.

What kind of training do you do?

We have an online platform called “Arts U” that provides a lot of online training and webinars for arts workers, which is very broadly defined as far as people’s levels of their career goes, or the types of engagement they have as creative workers. And, a lot of those resources also just live on our website, so they might not be an active part of the video experience, but the database of materials that you can access and pull into your own practice. So you could find a study or a report or a framework or a template and bring it to you.  

What is next for AFTA, given the changes that have happened in the arts landscape in recent years?

The evolution is key; the organization is actually in a process because of covid, because of racial justice, because of our own desire to evolve and serve the needs of our country better. We operate under a value that everyone is an artist; just as, from my own experience in political organizing, everyone is a voter, even if you don’t vote; in the same way, everyone is an artist. Even if you don’t have an active practice, you have creativity and self expression inside you, and that is a big piece of connection between all of us. And again, as an organization that works across all those disciplines, that’s what we have in common, even as artists, that we have our own ways of connecting with that or of engaging with that. Audiences are also artists in their own ways. The whole ecosystem has many parts and everyone plays a unique role; there is a whole universe of different responsibilities and opportunities and not one is more important than the other, we need each other in that. Of course that is true all across society, but it is in creative contexts that I think it is extremely relevant. This is one of the challenges that an organization like AFTA faces, building work and building services and providing leadership that can contain multitudes; developing this work and supporting artists is the goal.

Interview with Keep Music Alive co-founder Vincent James, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022 

How did Keep Music Alive begin?

My wife and I founded it. It started as an informal organization back in 2014, when we launched a story search for a book series that is called “88 Ways Music Can Change Your Life”; it’s like a “Chicken Soup for the Music Lover’s Soul”, with inspirational stories about how music impacted different people’s lives. The concept for keep Music Alive organically grew out of that.

What are the main activities of Keep Music Alive?

In March of 2015 we started Teach Music Week, where we work with music stores and schools  to offer a free music lesson to kids and adults, to inspire people to get started on their musical journey. There are now over a thousand schools and store locations in about a dozen countries that participate each year. About a year after that we started Kids Music Day on the first Friday in October; for this, we partner with the same locations around the world to offer some sort of event or promotion that benefits or celebrates kids playing music. That could be an instrument petting zoo, kids open mic, a student performance in house or in the community, an instrument donation drive, pretty much anything they can think of that benefits or celebrates kids playing music. In addition to these two major programs, year round we do Musical Instrument Petting Zoos.

How did you start playing music?

When I was in elementary school we were offered a chance to play a musical instrument; first I wanted to play guitar and drums, but guitar wasn’t offered, and my parents said no to the drums. So, I picked up the trombone and played in bands all the way through school, which was an awesome experience. When I was about 10 or 11, my mom convinced my dad to bring a piano into the house, because she had always wanted to learn the piano. I saw her learning and I was drawn like a bee to honey, asking when can I start. I took classical piano lessons for about 3 years and then I taught myself to play pop music, took a few lessons on guitar, and I’ve been writing and playing ever since. I think of myself as a semi professional musician. I have a full time unrelated job, but music has always been an extremely important part of who I am.

What are your goals and visions for Keep Music Alive?

We want to continue growing the organization, working on our fundraising to be able to support a small staff so that we can support 100-120 instrument petting zoos per year, and we also hope to do some sort of local grant program where we have grants to award instruments to schools or students that have a specific need. We want to continue to live in that space full time.

It’s wonderful that you include adults as well as children in your beginner music programs; how do you invite adult beginners to get involved?

That is very important to us. For Teach Music Week, our partners offer a free lesson to anyone who is interested, kids or adults. The Instrument Petting Zoos are generally geared toward kids, but we often have parents come in who are interested in learning, so we talk to them and give them ideas about getting started and point them in the right direction. I can’t count how many people come up to me and say “I always wished I had learned to play the piano” or guitar, whatever instrument they are interested in, and we always tell them it is never ever too late to start. One guitar student I had didn’t start playing guitar until he was 80 years young! He worked with me for 5 years until the pandemic came, and then we had to stop, but it was a great experience for him. His wife would talk about how it was so valuable, he got so much joy out of it and it helped to keep his mind clear. There are so many benefits to playing music for adults as well as for kids.

Interview with Guitars 4 Vets co-founder Patrick Nettesheim, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022.

How did Guitars 4 Vets begin? 

This was not part of the master plan, I wanted to be a rockstar! I played music since childhood, starting on trumpet (but I was allergic to valve oil) and later moving on to guitar and piano. I have played in bands all my life, and started teaching music at age 16, and I’ve been teaching ever since. In fall 2006 I met Dan Van Buskirk, a combat veteran who always wanted to play guitar, but felt that his disability (PTSD) prevented him from connecting to music. 

How did Dan find you? 

I was teaching at a music store in Brookfield WI (Cream City Music) and playing in bands. Dan came to me for lessons, and we started working with my P.A.G.E. approach (Patience, Acceptance, Gratitude and Empathy), and quickly forged a strong student/teacher bond. My belief is that music when it works is a spiritual experience, and the guitar is the catalyst for positive human interaction. Music is the telekinesis of emotion; you take your thoughts and feelings, and now you can feel your feelings.

How did Guitars 4 Vets begin?

Because his guitar lessons helped him so much with his PTSD, it was Dan’s idea to go to the VA in Milwaukee, as he felt compelled to share the benefit. I was too busy, but Dan persuaded me! We went with the intention of playing for the people in spinal rehab at the VA. The store where I was teaching was owned by Joe Gallenberger, whose dad had recently died of complications from PTSD (he was a veteran of the Korean War). When Joe heard that we were going to play music at the VA, he handed me 2 guitars and said “Take these in honor of my dad, and use them to help these people”. We handed the guitars to the veterans, and started teaching! When we finished, the nurses said “you’re coming back next week”, and more and more people joined. Soon after this, we decided to form a nonprofit. I came up with the name, googled it, and nothing came up, so we went ahead and registered it and had nonprofit status within a year. Now this is a global movement

What is your primary mission with Guitars 4 Vets?

What we are doing is making the therapeutic nature of music making available for free. We provide guitars and lessons for Military Veterans, at no cost to them. Upon graduation, each Veteran is awarded a guitar, gig bag, picks, strap, tuner, stand, method book, capo and a certificate of completion. Since 2007, Guitars for Vets has provided nearly 6,000 new guitars and 60,000 lessons to our Nation’s Veterans. More than 110 chapters have been established in over 40 states, and 500 volunteers assure the mission is successful.

What is the Guitars 4 Vets approach to teaching?

The way we teach is guided by the students, we ask the student what they want to learn. Show them the  concept, and then demonstrate a practical application that the student is interested in. We then encourage them to do something on their own with it. We light the way while they are searching for their path.

I see you are hosting a big event on Make Music Day, June 21st 2022; would you like to say something about that?

The 21 Guitar Salute honors the men and women that have served in the military and are now living with the challenges of Post Traumatic Stress [PTSD]. Donations collected from this event will support our brothers and sisters on their journey toward recovery by providing them with free guitars, lessons, teamwork and camaraderie.

Interview with Guitars 4 Vets co-founder Patrick Nettesheim, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022.

How did Guitars 4 Vets begin? 

This was not part of the master plan, I wanted to be a rockstar! I played music since childhood, starting on trumpet (but I was allergic to valve oil) and later moving on to guitar and piano. I have played in bands all my life, and started teaching music at age 16, and I’ve been teaching ever since. In fall 2006 I met Dan Van Buskirk, a combat veteran who always wanted to play guitar, but felt that his disability (PTSD) prevented him from connecting to music. 

How did Dan find you? 

I was teaching at a music store in Brookfield WI (Cream City Music) and playing in bands. Dan came to me for lessons, and we started working with my P.A.G.E. approach (Patience, Acceptance, Gratitude and Empathy), and quickly forged a strong student/teacher bond. My belief is that music when it works is a spiritual experience, and the guitar is the catalyst for positive human interaction. Music is the telekinesis of emotion; you take your thoughts and feelings, and now you can feel your feelings.

How did Guitars 4 Vets begin?

Because his guitar lessons helped him so much with his PTSD, it was Dan’s idea to go to the VA in Milwaukee, as he felt compelled to share the benefit. I was too busy, but Dan persuaded me! We went with the intention of playing for the people in spinal rehab at the VA. The store where I was teaching was owned by Joe Gallenberger, whose dad had recently died of complications from PTSD (he was a veteran of the Korean War). When Joe heard that we were going to play music at the VA, he handed me 2 guitars and said “Take these in honor of my dad, and use them to help these people”. We handed the guitars to the veterans, and started teaching! When we finished, the nurses said “you’re coming back next week”, and more and more people joined. Soon after this, we decided to form a nonprofit. I came up with the name, googled it, and nothing came up, so we went ahead and registered it and had nonprofit status within a year. Now this is a global movement

What is your primary mission with Guitars 4 Vets?

What we are doing is making the therapeutic nature of music making available for free. We provide guitars and lessons for Military Veterans, at no cost to them. Upon graduation, each Veteran is awarded a guitar, gig bag, picks, strap, tuner, stand, method book, capo and a certificate of completion. Since 2007, Guitars for Vets has provided nearly 6,000 new guitars and 60,000 lessons to our Nation’s Veterans. More than 110 chapters have been established in over 40 states, and 500 volunteers assure the mission is successful.

What is the Guitars 4 Vets approach to teaching?

The way we teach is guided by the students, we ask the student what they want to learn. Show them the  concept, and then demonstrate a practical application that the student is interested in. We then encourage them to do something on their own with it. We light the way while they are searching for their path.

I see you are hosting a big event on Make Music Day, June 21st 2022; would you like to say something about that?

The 21 Guitar Salute honors the men and women that have served in the military and are now living with the challenges of Post Traumatic Stress [PTSD]. Donations collected from this event will support our brothers and sisters on their journey toward recovery by providing them with free guitars, lessons, teamwork and camaraderie.

Interview with Maker Music Festival co-founder Sherry Huss, conducted by the Make Music Alliance in May 2022.

How did the Maker Music Festival get started?

Maker Music Festival evolved out of Maker Faire. I was the co-founder of Maker Faire which launched in 2006, and I helped to build that from one event in the first year, to 244 events in 45 countries around the world by 2018, with the help of a grant from the Kaufman Foundation and partnerships with The Henry Ford in Detroit and the New York Hall of Science in New York City. We were invited to do a White House Maker Faire in 2014 under the Obama administration, which was a huge help, nationally and internationally. 

My husband is a developer and programmer and a musician, and the president of our local Maker Space in Sonoma County. In 2018 they wanted to do a fundraiser, and were thinking of having a Maker Faire, so I suggested that they choose one component to focus on and they chose music, which is when the idea of Maker Music Festival was launched. They did a one day festival and it was just beautiful, with digital and analog components, about 10 or 12 exhibits, and hands on activities for kids. It turned out great, and we wanted to do it again in 2019 but I got too busy, so we planned to do it in 2020—and 2020 became 2020!

In early 2020 my husband and I started work on another passion project, Decameron Row, which gave us the idea to do a music festival online, with a row of buildings that house different musical projects. 

Last year, working with eight curators, we launched the Maker Music Festival with 19 buildings, 200 makers and over 300 projects; we presented 20 hours of live programming over two days, ten hours per day. Those have all been posted to our YouTube channel, and it actually turned out to be really great. 

What will be different about this year’s Maker Music festival?

There is actually going to be a way to search the campus by person or by project, so it will be easier to navigate and will also provide the Makers with a link to their work, which is helpful because a lot of them don’t have a web presence; this year we will probably have about 100 new Makers and many more buildings. This year, groups such as DorkBot (San Francisco Bay Area), MakeMe (France) and UMass Lowell (Waltham, MA) will occupy entire buildings. We will probably have about 6 to 8 hours of live programming. 

What is the goal of this project?

The goal is to give the community a venue to show and share what they are doing. Moving forward, our work is probably going to have more of an educational focus. We are working with AnnMarie Thomas, a Maker and the winner of the 2020 Lego Prize who works at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis, to figure out how to use the Maker Music Festival and Campus as a tool for teachers and education, creating materials to support music education, especially in elementary and middle school, as this type of education is lacking in this country compared to internationally. 

Do you have plans to return to a live format in the future?

There is nothing that beats live music, for sure, and we will see how it goes. Ultimately our goal would be to have live Maker Music Festivals, and there is no reason why they can’t happen around the world. I think the good thing is that we have created a global network of music makers from around the world that can acknowledge each other’s work and be together and engage online and hopefully in person at some point.