John Lennon Educational Tour Bus to Offer Once-in-a-Lifetime Musical Experience for Herricks High School

On Thursday, October 12, Herricks High School will welcome The NAMM Foundation and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus: a state-of-the-art mobile audio and video recording production facility for a full-day student recording session followed by The NAMM Foundation SupportMusic Community Forum.

“The Herricks community is a very special place where musicians are encouraged and supported as they grow and flourish,” shared Anissa Arnold, Director of Music and Performing Arts at Herricks Union Free School District. “Our teachers and students are all very dedicated and passionate about making music and sharing it through the community.”

The district won the visit as part of The NAMM Foundation’s “What Makes Music Education Great in My School District?” video submission program that recognizes schools in the United States that promote music education as part of the curriculum during the school day. In the video, Herricks high school administrators, music educators and students highlighted the school district’s decades-long commitment to music education through a multitude of programs ranging from chamber choir and orchestral music instruction to modern jazz band, wind ensemble, guitar and ukulele instruction and beyond, overseen by 22 music educators and a supportive community and district staff. The video submission can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuY_jwXNcgw&feature=youtu.be

The Bus’s two-day residency begins on Thursday, October 12 when seven music students and one alumnus from the high school will board the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus for the opportunity to professionally record a song from start to finish. Assisted by three on-board engineers, the students will write, record, and produce an original song, learn about live multi-camera video production, produce and shoot a music video that will be seen on YouTube – all in one day.

On Friday, October 13, The NAMM Foundation will bring together a panel of educators, elected officials, school administrators and music students in a SupportMusic Community Forum to highlight community support for the music education program. The program will kick off at 9:30 a.m. and will feature a variety of musical performances highlighting the diversity of the school’s music programs followed by a series of discussions on the district’s music education successes. Panelists will include:

Dr. Fino Celano, Superintendent of Herricks School District

Dr. David Gaines, Immediate Past President - New York State School Music Association

Joan Keegan, Principal of Herricks Middle School

Henry Zanetti, Herricks Board of Education

Jonathan Sanelli, Alumnus

Jonathan Watkins, Wright Music

Herricks Union Free School District is one of three school districts in the country to receive a visit from The NAMM Foundation and the Lennon Bus, and Herricks High School is the only school in New York state to receive a visit from the program. This year, the bus made stops in both Country Club Hills, Illinois, and in Scotts Valley, California. For additional information, please visit: https://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/namm-foundation-and-john-lennon-educational-tour-0