1. Why This Project Matters
*** We are dedicated that Music and Art Education are essential to the development of every child, and we want to engage as many children as possible in the creative process. ***
Children who are deprived of music education "may never be able to meet complex challenges because their talents are undeveloped . . . If a child is dancing, drumming and singing they simply cannot fail." — Jean Houston, Author, Teacher and Protegée of Margaret Mead. |
2. Who We Are and What We’re Creating
A. The Brass Family's Great Adventure: The Story.
The story of this online musical “book” is about the Brass Family: Papa Trombone, Mama French Horn, Toby Tuba and Cornetta Brass. They come to the Big City (New York?) at the turn of the last century. They manage to obtain a small tenement apartment; but they need money to survive. They each have their own tune, and go out and play in restaurants, on street corners, in the street market and in the subway; but they aren’t making enough to survive. Then they decide to do a melody where they all harmonize. This is louder and more beautiful than the individual tunes. They go to the Center of Town (5th Ave.?) and play it there. A famous bandleader hears them and hires them for his big band. And they are all very happy! (18 pages of illustrated text).
B. Clark Gayton: Brass Musician Extraordinaire.
Clark has had a long and exciting career playing every sort of music imaginable, and traveling to almost every country of the world. This summer (2012) he is playing with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band’s World Tour. But he has also played and traveled with Sting (several times), The Mingus Big Band, The Skatelites, the Metropolitan Opera of NYC, Illinois Jacquet, and a great many other famous (and not so famous) musicians, as well.He has expertise in both composing and arranging, and can be found playing various venues in New York City when he’s not on the road.
C. Nancy L. Hoffmann: Writer, Illustrator, Designer and Educator.
Nancy has fifteen years of documentary and conceptual Illustration under her belt, along with five years as an ad agency copywriter and subsequent blogger and web content writer. Via her freelance company, TomatoDesign.Net, she has designed sites for a wide range of small businesses, utilizing her expertise as an ad agency art director and graphic designer, as well as web designer and developer. Additionally, she has a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education.
D. Russell Robinson, Computer Scientist and Veteran Programmer.
Russell is the owner of Tectite, and has enormous expertise in programming and online development. He will be a great asset to our team, as he is also a musician (woodwinds), and wants to see the cause of music education (much neglected in the USA!) advanced worldwide. |
3. Funding and Perks (for You)!
A. YOUR PERKS As a Contributor:
- Contribute $250 and your school gets free access for a year, in addition to your own FREE pass.
- Contribute $95 and 30 children or teachers from your school will get access to the site, in addition to your own FREE pass.
- Contribute $45 and your child's teacher will get access to the site to share with the class, in addition to your own FREE pass.
- Everyone who contributes $20 or more to this project will receive a FREE pass to the site (normally, you would have to get a pass for a fee @ ±$25). It will be fun for both adults or children to make their own musical arrangements!
- The story of the Brass Family coming to the Big City (apparently New York at the turn of the last century) is carefully researched to include the look and feel of what an immigrant would have seen and experienced in that time period. Extensive research informs the illustrations, but they are done in a whimsical style (as is the music), which would appeal to children. A teacher could project the site (or DVD) to a class, and could manipulate the music with the help of the children.
B. Our Track Record / Where the Funding Will Go
1. Clark Gayton has free music, tour dates, videos and photos at http://www.myspace.com/clarkgayton. You can also read his biography at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gayton. His Facebook pages is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clark-Gayton/30836069726; and there is more about him at http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/clarkgayton. Sting calls him a consummate musician and says that Clark is part of his “musical family.” Need we say more? Clark will be composing, arranging and digitizing the music for the site. This would require an investment in both equipment and hours.
2. Nancy L. Hoffmann has successfully created many web sites over the years (see her site, http://tomatodesign.net for some examples), in addition to her extensive advertising and illustration careers. Her blog is http://tomatogreening.com and her Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/nancy.hoffmann. Nancy will be researching, writing and illustrating in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator: 18-20 pages. She has already put over 400 hours iinto this project!
3. Russell Robinson is the owner of www.tectite.com, and author of Tectite FormMail, an anti-spam PHP form processor with a long history.: see http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/tectite_formmail_forms_processing for free form scripts. You can follow him at https://twitter.com/#!/tectitecom and get even more great information! Lastly, his LinkedIn page is http://www.linkedin.com/pub/russell-robinson/15/606/b9. Russell will code the site in HTML and JavaScript to make it very flexible and to work well on the iPad and other tablets. As tablets don't have a mouse, one needs to design to adapt to a touchscreen. Snippets of audio, moving characters, etc. are all possible with these basic technologies.
C. What If We Don’t Reach Our Entire Goal?
If we don’t reach our entire goal of US$55,000, we will apply the money we have to the project and see how far we can get with it. Then we will try to raise funds again. |
