Education Through Music-Colorado

That drum 🥁, that piano 🎹, that guitar 🎸—they’re more than just music instruments.

For the children who hold them, they’re gateways to self-expression, vessels for building confidence, and bridges that connect them with their peers, families, and communities.

But to unlock the full power of music, it’s not enough to simply hand out instruments. What’s needed is a comprehensive, holistic educational program—and, most importantly, exceptional teachers who inspire students and guide them in discovering the transformative language of music.

That’s why a donation to ETM-CO means so much more than providing a tambourine or flute to an under-resourced school. Your ❤️ support gives young students in Colorado the chance to grow, create, explore, and share their voices with the world.

Let’s bring music back to schools

In many public schools, the hallways, classrooms, and auditoriums have gone quiet. Music education has become a luxury and thousands of children are growing up with increasingly unequal opportunities to thrive. 

We are closing this gap by integrating weekly music classes into the core curriculum of under-resourced schools. We hire exceptional teachers to create tailored curricula for each student. We provide music instruments, and organize concerts that engage the community, giving students a platform to showcase their talents. 

We build multi-year sustainable programs that help students’ creativity and growth flourish while inviting families to become involved. The result for students is cognitive development, academic achievement and emotional wellbeing.

A steady drumbeat, thirty years and counting

Education Through Music (ETM) is a national network that launched programming more than 30 years ago in New York followed by expansion to Los Angeles and, more recently, Denver. As one of the largest nonprofit providers of comprehensive, direct music education in U.S. schools, ETM has already impacted over 300,000 students nationwide.

Research shows that students who have access to music education from a young age receive substantial long-term benefits. Metis Associates conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the ETM New York program during the 2023-24 school year. According to responses from principals, teachers, and students, the integration of our programming in schools fosters teamwork, engagement, and persistence, as well as growth in oral expression, critical thinking, and autonomy.

Bridging the divide in Colorado

Our effort to establish programming in Colorado is just getting started. Since 2019, ETM-CO has been working to bridge the gap in music education, currently reaching 2,500 students in grades ECE-8 across eight schools in low-income neighborhoods. However, the need remains immense—thousands more students are still waiting for the support we provide.

What sets us apart is not just what we do, but how we do it. Rather than simply distributing instruments or offering sporadic after-school programs, we integrate music education directly into the school. We do this through the leadership of exceptional music teachers who work with students on a weekly basis throughout the school year. This ensures consistent practice, skill development, and ongoing relationships with dedicated music educators who foster the many benefits of music education.

We don’t just stop at teaching. We empower school principals to hire our teachers as full-time staff once the program proves successful and engaging. In fact, three of our partner schools have already hired our teachers, allowing us to reinvest our resources into expanding to new schools and reaching more students.

We prioritize Title I schools in low-income neighborhoods, where more than 82% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Nearly 88% of our students come from racial and ethnic minority groups. Above all, we ensure that every child—regardless of background or ability—has access to high-quality, inclusive, and meaningful music education.