Frederick
D. Weil
Department of Sociology
Louisiana State University
email: fweil@lsu.edu
"The
Roots of Music"
An After-School Music Program for New
Orleans
For
middle school children, age 9-14, in New Orleans.
Founded and led by Rebirth Brass Band snare-drummer, Derrick
Tabb. I serve as Secretary of the Board of Directors. Our
research
team
is also
evaluating
the contribution
of
this program to the hurricane recovery of students' families.
"As
the small gold helmets of The Roots of Music Marching Band
bobbed along St. Charles Avenue last weekend, onlookers repeatedly
uttered one phrase. "Too cute!" they'd scream,
pointing at a tiny cymbal player or an elfin saxophonist." New
Orleans Times-Picayune, February 18, 2009 (link below)
For
current news, see the Roots
of Music Blog,here The
main Roots of Music website is here For
current photos, see our Picasa page, here
See these
News Stories:
CBS
Early Show airs a 5-minute feature on the Roots of Music, August
27, 2010, "Band
Program Inspires Katrina Youth.
Michelle Miller profiles two young boys who survived hurricane
Katrina but lost everything. Five years later, "The
Roots of Music" band program is helping them look
toward the future."
NPR,
All Things Considered, August 24, 2010, "The
Music Of New Orleans, After The Storm," Nick Spitzer
discusses some of the musicians and musical projects in
New Orleans who have been active since the storm, including
... Derrick Tabb and the Roots of Music program. Here.
CNN Hero Derrick Tabb started an afterschool music program
that caught the attention of actor Tim Robbins. August
14, 2010.
New
Orleans Gambit cover story, February 22, 2010, "The
Roots of Music. An acclaimed afterschool program for
at-risk youth, may run out of funding at the end of next
month."
Here.
Derrick
is named a "Top Ten CNN
Hero of the Year!" October
2,
2009.
Derrick
is named a "CNN Hero!" August
7, 2009.
2 Feature stories on CNN, 4th of July, 2009.
Feature story on national NBC
Nightly News, April 30,
2009, below, or here.
Story
in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 28,
2009, here.
Story in Rolling
Stone Magazine, Feb 24, 2009, here.
Front-Page
story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, February
18, 2009, here.
Story
in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, February
12, 2009, here.
New Orleans
Gambit Weekly story, June 24, 2008, here.
Front-Page
story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, June
2, 2008, here.
Recent Gigs
- (always see the Roots website for
the most up-to-date info)
2010:
Mardi
Gras parades
Feb 5 - Oshun
Feb 6 - Alla
Feb 9 - WHO
DAT (N.O. Saints victory parade!)
Feb 11 - Muses
Feb 13 - Nomtoc (West Bank)
Feb 14 - Bacchus
Feb 15 - Orpheus
2009:
February -
Mardi
Gras parades:
Bacchus, Orpheus, Muses, Pygmalion, Alla
March
21 - Earth Fest at Audubon Zoo (11:30-12:15pm)
April
4 - CAC's Jammin on Julia block party (7-8pm)
We
will be marching through the CBD
April 23
- Benefit for the Roots of Music at the
Colton School (2300 St. Claude), 7.30 pm
April 30
- Jazz & Heritage Festival (5-6:15pm)
Marching
around the entire fair grounds
May
16 - Save Our Schools Benefit at the Federal
Bank Reserve (downtown)
May 23
- Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival at Bayou
St. John in Mid-City
Nov 7 - WWII
Museum (details TBA)
Roots of Music at Nomtoc Parade,
Algiers, Mardi Gras 2010
Roots
of Music Director
Derrick Tabb
Band
Director Lawrence Rawlins
Reginald
Williams
plays tuba for the first time!
CBS Early
Show, August 27, 2010, "Band Program
Inspires Katrina Youth"
Preview
for Feature
story on CNN, August 14, 2010
Feature
story on national NBC Nightly News, April 30, 2009
Organizing
meeting at Café du Monde, New Orleans,
during JazzFest, April 2008
From left: Allison Reinhardt, Matt Sakakeeny, Donna Santiago, Rick
Weil, Paul Siegel, Derrick Tabb
The
program is led by Derrick
Tabb, snare drummer for the Rebirth
Brass Band, probably the most important
younger brass band in New Orleans, and it has support from
most of the major New Orleans musicians who carry the city’s
musical traditions. Derrick is executive director of the Roots
of Music Foundation, which leads the
effort; Allison Reinhardt is Vice President. www.rebirthbrassband.com/band.shtml, www.therootsofmusic.com.
Lawrence
Rawlins is
Band Director, and Shoan
Ruffin is Drum Instructor. Mr. Rawlins
is an accredited music instructor and has held the position
of Band Director throughout the Orleans Parish school
system for over 10 years. Mr. Ruffin has been teaching
for 17 years in New Orleans middle and high schools.
After evacuating from Hurricane Katrina, he taught at
Delaware State University, and has since returned to
New Orleans. Plus instructors Allen
Dejan, Curriculum Director / Woodwinds
Instructor, and Edward
Lee, Lower Brass Instructor.
Matt
Sakakeeny,
Music Professor at Tulane,
board member of Roots of Music, and formerly co-producer
of the “American Routes” radio show on NPR,
provides advice and guidance.
Rob
Wallis and Paul
Siegel, co-Presidents of Hudson
Music, and owners/partners of the Drummers
Collective, New York, have been
members of the drums/percussion/music community for close
to 30 years and assist in building networks with instrument
manufacturers and other national musicians, also helping
the program acquire instruments. Hudson Music provides
video and audio products for music instruction and entertainment,
with special expertise in drumming and jazz. www.hudsonmusic.com, www.drummerscollective.com
Duffie
A. Adelson,
President, and Betsy Ko,
Director of the “Bridges: Partners in Music” off-site
program, Merit School
of Music in Chicago, provide expert
guidance in program organization and development. Merit
was founded in 1979 to provide after-school instruction
to the children of Chicago’s public schools, when
that city’s arts programs were ended. Since then,
Merit has educated 46,000 students. Merit owns its own
facility and also offers weekly instruction to more than
5,000 students at 90 Chicago Public Schools, private
schools, community centers and homeless shelters. www.meritmusic.org
Rick
Weil,
Sociology Professor at LSU,
evaluates how participation in the program benefits parents
and communities from which the students come. He is doing
research and recovery work on post-Katrina New Orleans,
supported by the National Science Foundation, and is
working closely with many community organizations.
The Roots of
Music program is housed in the historic Cabildo in
Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter,
part of the Louisiana State Museum.
Its previous homes were the Grace
Episcopal Church on Canal Street in Mid-City,
the New Orleans Contemporary
Arts Center, and Tipitina's.
All
original material copyright (c) 2005-2013, by Frederick
Weil, all rights reserved.
May be cited for scholarly purposes with attribution, except where noted.