AdoptAClassroom.org was honored to spend our Saturday with School of Rock at their “Best of MN Music Festival” at Minnesota Music Cafe! Between the performances and fun yard games on the patio, everyone seemed to be having a great time. And we’ll admit, we were a little starstruck being so close to some of our favorite Minnesota artists such as Claudio Rivera of Motion City Soundtrack and Sean McPherson of Heiruspecs. Maybe more impressive were the youngest kids shredding on guitars bigger than them!
Still, the best part of the day was supporting one of our AAC music teachers. With the help of School of Rock, Capitol Guitars, and everyone who attended the event, our Executive Director Bob Thacker was able to present music teacher Mr. Kyle Manley of Crosswinds East Metro Arts and Science School with a gift certificate for 10 new guitars.
Mr. Manley shared that he had been teaching on broken guitars, since most of his students don’t have guitars of their own. As Bob quipped while presenting the check, it’s hard to teach students how to play “when all you have are air guitars.”
It’s Mr. Manley’s second year at Crosswinds, and his favorite part of teaching is “watching kids grow and learn.” He teaches band to kids in grades 6-10 from all over the Twin Cities.
AAC and School of Rock MN also presented Ramsey Middle School with a $200 check to go towards music education.
The day was a huge success, and we loved celebrating music education at the Minnesota Music Cafe! We’re so grateful to School of Rock and Capitol Guitars for including AAC and our teachers in such a great event.
