Greetings from the CEO and President

Dear Music for All Family,

Welcome to the 44th season of Bands of America Championships, presented by Yamaha – a program of Music for All. Bands of America events are the destination for the very best in scholastic marching band educational evaluation and performance. We’re glad you’ve chosen to participate in, support, and bear witness to the Bands of America tradition.

For our student participants, we offer Bands of America as a destination that helps foster personal development, a quest for excellence and appreciation for the arts, artistic expression, and the creativity it nurtures and inspires.

Music for All is about building leaders. Our goal is to recognize and support student preparation (for life). Scholastic music and arts programs provide opportunities for leadership development and leadership. The students performing on the field are leaders in their schools today, preparing to be leaders in their professions, communities, nation, and world tomorrow.

Music for All is about celebrating teaching and teachers. America’s music teachers – especially the band directors here with us today – are leading the way in ensuring the well-rounded education and preparation of the whole child. We are privileged and honored to provide a culminating performance experience worthy of showcasing their (and their students’) hard work, talent, and creativity.

We are pleased that you, and so many others, support our cause. Your attendance (and philanthropic support) matters, helping us to support and advocate for scholastic music and arts education with a vision to ensure that every child across America has access and opportunity to participate. Your participation makes you part of our larger community of more than 130,000 students who will perform at Bands of America Championships this fall and the 1.7 million+ alumni served by Music for All programs over four decades.

We are also blessed to be supported by a community of sustaining corporate partners, led by the Yamaha Corporation of America, which for more than 22 years has chosen Music for All to be its primary vehicle for delivery of resources and support to scholastic music education in America. We thank Yamaha and all of our sponsors and supporters including FJM, Music Travel Consultants, PepWear, Wenger, Ball State University, Visit Indy/City of Indianapolis, NAMM, BAND, DANSR, DSI, FloMarching, Remo, ScholarshipAuditions.com, Woodwind & Brasswind, and program partners DCI, JEN, United Sound, NAfME, Be Part of the Music, and our collaborators with the Music Education Alliance – the National Band Association and College Band Directors National Association. Their support helps us to increase and assure participant access and diversity in pursuit and delivery of our mission and vision.

At Music for All, we believe in music education, music in our schools, and music for all.

Welcome and thank you for being here, being part of our mission, and believing in Music for All.

Sincerely,