Next week, Make Music NOLA (MMN) will be hosting their annual Adopt-an-Instrument Drive fundraiser at Urban South Brewery. On Thursday, November 8 from 6-9 p.m, the event will take place featuring a live musical performance, bar, and raffle. All proceeds from the event will benefit MMN’s programming for the 2018-19 school year. MMN uses its funds “to provide tuition-free music education to students whose families demonstrate financial need.” By providing after-school music lessons, workshops, student recital programs, and field trips, the organization strives to “create access and opportunities for children from under-served communities.”

“Each week,” according to a press release, “MMN provides over fifty-six hours of general music classes and string instruction to over five hundred students at nine different locations around the city. Additionally, students enrolled in MMN perform up to fifteen concerts a year, participate in guest artist visits and masterclasses, and have the opportunity to attend professional performances.” Scientific research has proven the positive impact music education has on cognitive development. Studies say it improves students’ memory, literacy, decision-making, and goal-setting.

The all-age Adopt-an-Instrument event will feature a live performance by The Blake Amos Quartet from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the raffle will be giving away items donated by McHardy’s, Krewe du Optic, Southwest Airlines, and Three Muses. All attendees who commit to monthly donations will be automatically registered for the raffle and receive a surprise from Dirty Coast.

Aside from sustaining their current programming, MMN’s next goal for the year is to accommodate a significant increase in enrollment by moving to the Bell Artspace Campus this fall. Donations from the Adopt-an-Instrument Drive will support this project. MMN also accepts donations online at their website.