By Daily Press staff
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission recently donated pianos to a school in Malibu.
Forte Marketing Group, a national piano marketing company based in Portland, Ore., managed the liquidation of several hundred pianos surrendered in a foreclosure in Los Angeles. Most were sold, but 28 were offered to local schools. Forte contacted the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which paid all delivery and handling charges.
The pianos were sent to schools by the County Arts Commission as part of its Arts for All initiative, a 10-year effort to help all 80 Los Angeles County school districts plan for district-wide, sequential arts education. The Commission made the pianos available to school districts currently receiving technical assistance to implement sequential arts education district-wide.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Malibu High received one piano. “We are grateful for the piano donation from the LA County Arts Commission,” said Mark Kelly, principal of Malibu High School. “My music teachers report that the piano is used throughout the day in vocal and instrumental music classes. The donation was particularly helpful in the last few weeks as our students prepared for a piano recital. We have a growing music program and the Commission’s donation is a wonderful addition to our school.”
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission provides leadership in cultural services of all disciplines for the largest county in the United States, encompassing 88 municipalities. The Arts Commission provides leadership and staffing to support the regional blueprint for arts education, Arts for All; administers a grants program that funds more than 250 nonprofit arts organizations annually; funds the largest arts internship program in the country in conjunction with the Getty Foundation, programs the John Anson Ford Theatres and supports the Los Angeles County Cultural Calendar on ExperienceLA.com. The Commission also produces free community programs, including the L.A. Holiday Celebration broadcast nationally, and a year-round music program that funds mores than 60 free concerts each year in public sites.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 25, 2005. Read the original PDF.