Music Will Annual Report
2024-2025 School Year
Transforming Lives by Transforming Music Education
Music Will: Participation That Powers Possibility
In a time when students are facing record levels of stress, anxiety, and disconnection, music class is often the one place where they can breathe, belong, and be themselves.
This year, Music Will’s work focused on two powerful outcomes: increasing participation in music programs across the country and advancing students’ social-emotional development through culturally responsive music education. Research shows that students who participate in music are more likely to attend school regularly, build stronger relationships, and experience improved self-esteem and mental health.
But participation is the key. Even where music programs exist, 80% of students will choose not to enroll or will drop out before discovering its benefits. Music education can’t change lives if kids aren’t choosing to be part of it.
We’re changing that.
In a recent survey,
%
of our teachers reported that their modern band program engaged students who had previously not participated in school music—reaching new learners and unlocking new possibilities.
Since 2002, our modern band programs have trained thousands of educators, donated instruments and curricular resources, and supported over 1.8 million students in more than 6,000 schools nationwide—and we’re just getting started. Because when more kids participate, more kids thrive.
Our approach meets students where they are—musically and emotionally—equipping them with tools to express themselves, connect with their peers, and build lifelong skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
And it’s not just anecdotal. Neuroscience shows that music activates the brain’s reward pathways, releasing feel-good chemicals that boost motivation and emotional well-being. In fact, active musical engagement has been linked to higher rates of happiness—a critical ingredient in helping kids thrive, especially today.
By embedding equity, relevance, and joy into every classroom we serve, we’re not just expanding access to music—we’re helping shape a generation that is more resilient, engaged, and empowered.
And that's music to all our ears.
Dear Friends,
We’re proud to share that 2025 marked our 23rd year working alongside teachers and schools to bring the power of music-making to young people. Over these decades, we’ve been inspired by the music, passion, and impact of millions of students, teachers, partners, and supporters. It’s remarkable to reflect on that journey, while looking forward to where we’re headed. Some things have changed over those years.
- Our name - a shift from Little Kids Rock to Music Will, to encompass our belief that music is for all ages, across all genres.
- Our scale - from our founder Dave Wish’s first grade classroom to a nation-wide community supporting more than 1 million students this year alone in almost 5,000 classrooms across the country.
- The world - in this post-Covid, social media-driven world, the challenges young people face are more complex and more prevalent than ever.
But what has never changed is our belief that music and music-making in a student’s life builds a sense of belonging and self-confidence. Music is a tool to process emotions, an outlet for their voice, and a community they are looking for. Music helps young people thrive. In a time when adolescent loneliness, depression, and anxiety are at all time highs, this work is needed now more than ever.
2024-2025 marked the first year of our ambitious 5-year plan to impact the lives of 11 million students annually by 2030 - nearly 40% of all music students nationwide. In this annual report, we are proud to share the inspiring impact of the students and teachers across our Music Will community who will make that vision a reality.
- Hear from our students in their own words about how music helps them be their best self–enriching their lives with confidence, creativity, and connection.
- Discover what Music Will teachers say about how music changes the dynamic of their classrooms and why music education matters for every student.
- See what our work looks like in action. Our 2024-2025 program highlights capture the depth and breadth of our impact on students and teachers who learn with us, utilize our resources, and experience the benefits of music education through Music Will’s work.
If you’re reading this, you’re part of something bigger - a growing movement to ensure that an entire generation of young people experience the transformative power of music. Thank you. Thank you for your support, your partnership, your belief.
With Love and Harmony,
Mike Wasserman
Music Will CEO
Music Will Through the Years
Click, drag, or use your mouse to scroll.
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First-grade/ESL teacher, Dave Wish, begins holding informal guitar lessons at a Palo Alto school without a music program.
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The program becomes wildly popular, with additional teachers being trained across different school districts and states.
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Dave Wish launches Little Kids Rock! The new nonprofit holds its first workshop in Jersey City.
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Through grassroots training efforts, Little Kids Rock reaches more than 10,000 students annually.
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Little Kids Rock expands its training programs from guitar workshops to modern band instruments. It offers its first Modern Band 101 and 102 workshops.
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As Little Kids Rock begins to work with school districts and higher education institutions, it reaches more than 100,000 students annually.
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Little Kids Rock hosts RockFest: the annual conference that will become our Modern Band Summit.
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Little Kids Rock launches the JamZone to virtually house curricular resources for students and teachers.
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Little Kids Rock partners with the National Association for Music Education to host the first-ever All National Honors Modern Band Ensemble. For the first time, Little Kids Rock reaches more than 500,000 students annually.
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Little Kids Rock launches the Modern Band Method Books series in partnership with Hal Leonard Publishing. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Little Kids Rock hosts national virtual workshops and daily curriculum series in support of teachers and students learning remotely.
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To mark its 20th anniversary, Little Kids Rock rebrands to Music Will to better capture the organization’s goals to support music-makers of all ages across all genres.
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Music Will launches our new Five-Year strategic plan and reaches 1,000,000 students annually!
Our pedagogy
The Music Will Approach
At Music Will, students don’t just play music — they create it. Our modern band curriculum invites young people to learn the music they already know and love, from rock and pop to hip-hop, country, electronic, and beyond. Teachers guide rather than direct, giving students the freedom to experiment, collaborate, and express themselves through instruments, technology, and songwriting.
This approach meets students where they are — musically and personally. Each classroom becomes a space where every student can find their voice, whether by strumming a guitar, producing beats, or writing original lyrics. The result is music education that is relevant, inclusive, and inspiring — and a deeper connection to learning that carries far beyond the classroom.
Modern Band Impact
%
of teachers say students are more willing to express themselves
%
of teachers say modern band has had a positive effect on student attendance
%
of teachers say modern band has had a positive effect on student behavior
Music Will by the Numbers
4,700+ Teachers
1,000,000+ Students
1,200+ School Districts
92 Higher Ed Fellows at 88 Institutions
View state-specific impact on our map.
2024-2025
A Year of Growth
As Music Will kicked off the first year of our new five-year strategic plan, we laid the foundation for a more responsive, data-informed educator journey with our organization. These efforts empowered us to create more tailored experiences for our students and teachers while greatly exceeding our expansion goals.
Activities like these help meet a wide variety of classroom needs to ensure that more teachers have the support they need to empower more students to share their voice.
For the first time in history, we served
students in a single year!
Professional Development
Professional Development Workshops Hosted Across the Country
New Teachers Trained
This program is fantastic. The fact that Music Will provides workshops and materials free of charge is incredible and such a benefit to districts like mine. I use a lot of pop/rock music with my students to make elementary music relevant to them, and this is not only validating, but gives me so many accessible concrete ways to build my program. Thank you for the amazing work you all do!”
- Teacher, Vermont
Students Exposed to the Music Will Approach
Instrument Donations
Instruments, Gear, and Equipment Donated to Ensure that Students Have Hands-On Opportunities to Make Music
We launched our National Instrument Fund to make instruments more accessible to teachers and students across the country.
A student said “I used to watch professional singers play guitar. Now I can play guitar. It’s like I’m on my way to being a professional.”
- Teacher, Colorado
Curriculum Development
We partnered with Indianapolis Public Schools to support the district’s focus on DJ curriculum. Following an investment of DJ equipment by the district arts administrator into all elementary music education classrooms, Music Will’s professional development empowered teachers to leverage these new resources!
We developed an early elementary Ukulele Resources curriculum in partnership with Save the Music to support teaching artists and our ever-growing community of early education teachers!
Technology & Innovation
We migrated Music Will Academy, our online learning management system for teachers, to a new platform to make resources easier to engage with and use in the classroom.
We launched our Virtual Keyboard tool which allows people to use our jam cards from any computer, phone, or tablet. Now this favorite pedagogical tool is right at students' fingertips!
Student Experiences
We hosted our annual Songwriting Exhibition in celebration of Music in Our Schools Month, which showcased 47 entries by student performers! Some students even had the opportunity to receive live feedback from professional musicians!
After our first-ever modern band concert, so many of my students were bouncing around, hugging each other, taking pictures, just beaming. Parents were just amazed. They were just super excited and super proud of what they had done. It was amazing.”
-Teacher, Colorado
Music Will teacher ambassadors hosted 16 student JamFests across the country for young people to perform and connect with their communities.
Taken together, all of these activities are opening the doors of music education to more students – and with it, the community, confidence, and joy that all start with music.
Modern Band Summit 2025
Music Will’s annual Modern Band Summit is a professional development conference like no other! Hosted in July 2025 in Fort Collins, CO, music educators from all over the country came together to learn, teach, play music, and experience the Music Will Approach.
500+
Number of Attendees
68
Number of Sessions
8,600
Hours of PD Provided
At Music Will, we believe that students of any background, experience level, and ability should have access to affirming music education experiences that meet them where they are. This idea took center stage at this year’s Modern Band Summit, with keynotes, presentations, and performances centered around providing teachers with the tools they need to honor any student’s needs and identity.
Culture Bearers
This year’s conference focused on Culture Bearers in Music Education, which celebrated those who pass down cultural legacies through music. Many sessions encouraged our teachers to explore new genres in their classroom, including American Roots Music, Hip Hop, Cajun and Creole Music, Latino Music, and Japanese Pop.
Mandy Harvey Keynote
Our artist keynote featured singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey. As a singer, songwriter, author, and speaker who happens to be deaf, Mandy’s keynote focused on the opportunity teachers have to lift up and bring out the best in their students. By sharing her experience with embracing life’s possibilities, working through obstacles, and finding a way forward, Mandy inspired attendees to explore how they can take steps to meet every student’s needs.
Featured Student Performance
Attendees got a picture of what true inclusivity and differentiation can look like in the music classroom during our featured student performance. Neurodivergent students from Emergence, the 3 strings band led by music education professor and disability advocate Ruth LeMay, performed a variety of popular music selections for all MBS attendees.
Mia Ibrahim Scholarship
Mia Ibrahim was an amazing music educator and advocate for marginalized youth and communities. They were passionate about ensuring the voices of LGBTQ2IA+ students were heard, and Mia led several sessions during past Modern Band Summits to help support other educators in this work. To honor their legacy, three educators who are dedicated to continuing this work were selected to receive The Mia Ibrahim Scholarship, which provided them with the opportunity to attend Modern Band Summit 2025.
MAKE SOME NOISE!
Music gives young people a place to belong: a space where everyone has a part to play in creating something bigger than themselves. You have an essential role in helping us make music education as inclusive as it can be. Music Will celebrates you – our donors, our partners, and our community members – for making our work possible. Thanks for being part of the band!
We are especially grateful to the following individuals and organizations for their generous support of our mission:
$1,000,000+ Donors
Chris & Robin Donohoe*
Greg & Carolyn Hall*
The Bohemian Foundation*
The Wildflower Foundation*
$400,000+ Donors
S. Irving and Anne Nevard Sherr Foundation*
The Crystal Family Foundation*
The LEGO Foundation
$100,000+ Donors
Country Music Association Foundation
Doug Camplejohn*
HARMAN
Hot Topic Foundation
Robert & Nancy Flaum*
The Caldwell-Fisher Charitable Foundation*
The Colton Family Foundation*
*Donors who supported our Music for Millions campaign
Our Team
Our Leadership - National Board of Directors
Regional Area Advisory Boards
National Advisory Board
Financials
Expenses
Revenue
Our Path Forward
MUSIC FOR MILLIONS
For over 20 years, Music Will has transformed music education nationwide, reaching 1.8 million students across all 50 states. By 2030, we aim to empower 11 million students annually to make more music, for more of their lives, with more meaning. To date, we've raised $10 million.
Many Ways to Give
There are many ways to support Music Will! Choose the option that works best for you. Every contribution, no matter the amount, plays a vital role in our mission to transform music education in communities and schools across the country.
Make an Online Donation
For gifts of $5,000 or more, or to explore other giving options, we’d be happy to connect with you directly. Please contact us at [email protected] to arrange payment via ACH, DAF, wire transfer, stock, or check.
Recurring Gifts
Your recurring gift helps Music Will by providing us with steady, reliable funding so we can keep our programs running smoothly. These gifts provide financial stability, allowing us to plan ahead, invest in programs, and reach more students every year. To make a recurring gift, select the "monthly" option on our donation form.
Employer Matching Gifts
Make your gift go even further. Many employers offer matching gift programs that can double—or even triple—your impact.
Check Charity Navigator's Employee Match Tool whether your contribution can be matched by your employer. Scroll down to enter your employer information and select “Let’s Check.” If you need a letter confirming your gift for an employer match, please contact us at [email protected].
Tribute & Honorarium Gifts
The work we do at Music Will is always meaningful, but when someone donates in honor or memory of a loved one, it adds an even deeper layer of purpose to our mission.
You can dedicate your gift in memory or honor of someone special by donating online and following the prompts to dedicate your donation. If your gift is being made in recognition of a Music Will board member, please let us know by leaving us a comment when making a donation.
Peer-to-Peer Campaigns
Inspire your friends and family to support Music Will by starting a peer-to-peer campaign for birthdays, memorials, or other special occasions. Peer-to-peer campaigns help Music Will reach new donors and grow awareness through your personal networks.
Kick off your peer-to-peer campaign today and inspire your community. You can share your story on your personalized fundraising page, track your progress, and celebrate milestones along the way.
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