Austin Music Nonprofit Beat 4 Beat to Host Fundraiser After Recent Burglaries

Austin-based music education nonprofit Beat 4 Beat is requesting support from the local community in light of two back-to-back burglaries within 24 hours. The storage space where the organization houses their musical instruments and equipment was ransacked twice on Friday, May 5, with over $5,000 worth of equipment used for the program's after school music lessons being stolen. While several local Austin musicians and companies have come to Beat 4 Beat's aid through donating instruments, including Kevin Russsell of Shinyribs, Rock n Roll Rentals and the Austin Ukestra to name a few, the organization requests the support from the Austin community. There are various means of supporting Beat 4 Beat including donating beginner guitars, keyboards, laptops, amps, etc. for the children in the program, donating funds for the organization to purchase new equipment, or attending Beat 4 Beat's first fundraising event of the year next Thursday, June 1, 2023 at The Belmont (located at 305 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701). The event will benefit Beat 4 Beat's free after school music programs and will feature music from GRAMMY-winning Latin funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma with Colombian melody maker Jaime Ospina (lead singer for Superfonicos) opening the show. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets start at $30. Various ticket tiers and sponsorship levels are available for purchase here. Media are also invited to attend and may email here to RSVP. For more information about “Beat 4 Beat,” see www.beat4beat.org. To donate to Beat 4 Beat, see here.

“Ultimately it's about more than stolen equipment,” said Mark Turk, Founder & Executive Director. “A theft of this magnitude pulls our resources away from the children who need us to deal with the aftermath. We need elevated community support to help in our recovery and would love to have any support we can, but especially for folks to buy tickets to (or sponsor) our fundraiser on June 1 and come see some great live music!” 

 

The June 1 event will feature a silent auction with spectacular items including a guitar signed by Tommy Shaw of Styx, a guitar signed by Shinyribs, a pair of tickets to see the Pixies with Franz Ferdinand, four box seats to either Tears for Fears or Foreigner and much more. See here for all of the current auction items and to bid. There will also be a raffle that features a choice of the three prizes including a Cancun paradise vacation, Sonoma Golf and Gourmet, and tickets to see P!NK in concert. See here to buy a raffle ticket.

 

Beat 4 Beat is a 501c3 nonprofit organization currently providing music education for Austin-area school districts and private schools via their free after-school music classes. Beat 4 Beat's mission is to develop confidence and community in underserved youth in Central Texas through after school music education. Taught by professional local musicians, their curriculum is inspired by students' interests, providing opportunities for expression and empowerment. Beat 4 Beat was established in 2014 by Mark Turk, Founder and Executive Director of Beat 4 Beat, after he spent decades in the music industry performing, recording, touring with local musicians, audio engineering and teaching music classes for public and private schools, as well as private music lessons on bass, guitar, piano, and voice. After working with at-risk students in AISD, and discovering the needs of music education in public schools, Mark saw how beneficial music was to these children. 

 

“In this post-pandemic era, we face many urgent problems, including a shortage of teachers in our schools,” said Mark Turk, Founder & Executive Director. “Another immediate problem we are all facing is mental health, especially with our kids, who missed two years of socialization during an important stage of their personal development. With a steep rise in school shootings, trauma and various mental health issues, reaching children at an early stage to begin building confidence, a true sense of self-efficacy, and cultural competence, is critical for a child's mental health and emotional well-being. Our approach focuses on social emotional learning and inclusivity. We are bringing this to them at school, meeting them where they are, and simply using music as the vehicle to teach them these incredibly valuable skills.” 

 

Beat 4 Beat's curriculum is guided and designed around the student's interests to keep them engaged in the classroom. The delivery is intended to create a lifelong relationship with music, and bring them greater cultural awareness. The classes are taught by professional, working musicians from Austin and Central Texas, which allow the students to learn important musical lessons used in the real world, as well as gain knowledge of music as a career from a professional. The end of term goal is performing together on stage during special showcases, featuring student bands alongside local and national artists. Donating to Beat 4 Beat helps provide a safe space for students (Pre-K, Grades K-12, and young adults at local recreation centers and YMCA locations) to express themselves creatively and empower them to learn new skills, it helps them build confidence and a sense of self and gives them equal opportunity to study music, no matter where they come from.

 

“The kids in Beat 4 Beat's after-school classes are coming to their final concerts with the confidence to perform on stage,” said Rhanda Luna, Director of Development of Beat 4 Beat. “Whether or not they all become musicians is beside the point; they are learning that they are capable of more than they ever thought possible. It is thrilling to be a part of Beat 4 Beat's first fundraising concert, and I cannot wait to see our community come out to support!”

 

While the majority of in-school time music ed is focused on traditional or classical music and musicianship, or other music programs are offered off-campus somewhere that a parent would have to drive their kids to get to – Beat 4 Beat is actively meeting kids where they are, going to the schools, many of which are low-income neighborhoods, and engaging students with music they already love. 

 

“Not choosing to teach guitar, drums, and bass – popular music today – is leaving out an entire generation of potential musicians because they simply were not interested enough in learning how to play Bach's classics on the cello when they were 12 years old,” said Luna.

 

Beat 4 Beat is open to working at any school in the Austin area and currently has programs at Smith Elementary, Widen Elementary, Langford Elementary, Govalle Elementary, Perez Elementary, Wooten Elementary, St. Elmo Elementary, Oak Spring Elementary School, Houston Elementary, Andrews Elementary, Bedichek Middle School, Blazier Elementary and Blazier Intermediate School, among others. Historically, the school districts pay the fees for the program, so that way parents do not have to pay. The organization is fundraising to try and make that fee as low as possible so that it's not a barrier to any district signing up. The program also welcomes sponsors to help underwrite the costs as well per school.  

 

ABOUT “BEAT 4 BEAT”:

 

Beat 4 Beat is a 501c3 nonprofit organization currently providing music education for Austin area school districts and private schools. Their vision is to provide music educational opportunities to all at-risk students that desire more learning opportunities, to provide supplemental income for local music professionals pursuing their careers. Beat 4 Beat develops confidence and community in underserved youth in Central Texas through after school music education. For more information about “Beat 4 Beat,” see here.