Yamaha and John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Shift Into High Gear for Music Education

Yamaha Corporation of America was paid an inaugural visit by the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus to its Buena Park, California headquarters this past month, heralding a rekindled partnership between the two organizations.

Yamaha was a founding sponsor of the multi-million dollar Tour Bus when it made its U.S. debut in 1998, and the company supported the roving music education venture for six straight years. The company renewed a multi-year commitment this past January, with the bus rolling into the 2014 Winter NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center displaying the company's logo, and greeting trade show attendees with an extensive array of drums and keyboard instruments featured on the bus, including a Yamaha CP4 Stage Piano, MOXF6 Keyboard, and DTX900K Electronic drum kit powered by DXR12 Active Loudspeakers. When the tents are used outside the bus, instruments included are the MOXF6, DTX562 Electronic drum kit and DTXM12 Multi-pad powered by DXR12 Active Loudspeakers.

"The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is one of the most innovative ventures ever created to get students hands on with musical instruments and the songwriting process," said Dave Jewell, marketing communications manager, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Yamaha is proud to partner with the Lennon Bus as both of our organizations share a deep commitment to supporting music education initiatives in our schools."

Following Yamaha's corporate kickoff event, the bus travelled north to Pomona, bringing its interactive music education presentation to Kingsley Elementary School, where the 700-plus students formed a human peace sign with a Police helicopter capturing the students' enthusiasm on camera.

The Kingsley students toured the bus, while several recorded and produced a music video, aided by Cal Poly Pomona students. The video can be viewed here: http://4wrd.it/JLETBKINGSLEY

The Lennon bus stop was one of the service projects that Cal Poly Pomona has with Kingsley to enrich educational opportunities for children, which is much needed given the challenges in funding for the arts.

Later in the week, the John Lennon bus made a stop at Cal Poly Pomona, offering a full day of tours for the campus community, as well as a photo booth and a jam tent with instruments.

"We were thrilled to have the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus visit us," says Professor Michael Millar, director of the Center for Community Engagement at Cal Poly Pomona. "The Lennon Bus is well known in the music industry for its high-impact brand of community engagement."

Going forward, Yamaha and the Lennon Bus are planning a number of events centered on the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, which is open to amateurs and professionals. The company is also inviting select authorized Yamaha dealers to participate in strategic stops along the tour route.

To view a photo gallery of Yamaha's sponsorship of the Lennon Bus, please visit http://4wrd.it/LENNONBUSGALLERY.

About Yamaha

Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is one of the largest subsidiaries of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of award-winning musical instruments, sound reinforcement and home entertainment products to the U.S. market. Products include: Yamaha acoustic, digital and hybrid pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio equipment, Steinberg recording products and Nexo commercial audio products, as well as AV receivers, amplifiers, Blu-ray/CD players, iPod docking systems, earphones, headphones, home-theater-in-a-box systems, sound bars and its exclusive line of Digital Sound Projectors. YCA markets innovative, finely crafted technology and entertainment products and musical instruments targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, professional music, installation and consumer markets.

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