Local school needs help keeping the music alive

DETROIT (WXYZ) - “Music is a universal language first of all... it's what I call the greatest of the arts,” says Lamar Phillips, the Music Director at Detroit Merit Charter Academy.

Regardless of your age, or gender, race or religion we all love music of some sort. For Phillips music is his life.

“It's a pathway to open up, for me not only spirituality but academics as well,” he says.

Numerous studies have been concluded that there is a direct connection between music and a child’s ability to learn. It could lead to a lifelong passion.

“One of the most important things that I look at is the ability to pass it on,” Phillips says.

Which is kind of hard to do with instruments that have been passed-along one too many times. And while listening to the radio may be free - teaching young musicians it not.

So with music being a social medium, Mr. Phillips turned to social media to get help for his students.

"All the teachers, all the staff, all of our friends put it on our Facebook pages. We've done email blasts to everyone," Phillips says.

All to get the word out that by going to donorchoose.org , you can help keep music alive in schools that exists in a city uncommonly rich in musical heritage. But there's a bigger lesson to be learned here.

“It's not just that these children play instruments, they learn a little bit of entrepreneurship. They're ready to be leaders,” Phillips says.

And every hour spent practicing is one less hour that a young person could find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Click to help Detroit Merit Charter Academy