Instrumentos de la Libertad was begun by Jason Justice, our Executive Director, during the winter of 2003, in response to some data he came across regarding the ethnic breakdown of students enrolled at Denver School of the Arts, which is an arts magnet school serving the metropolitan Denver area. Jason is a professional, Denver-area jazz saxophonist who has over 20 years’ experience as a performer and private saxophone teacher. Click here to visit his professional site.

According to recent surveys, the ethnic make-up of students attending the Denver public school system is 62 percent Hispanic. However, only 15 percent of students enrolled at Denver School of the Arts are Hispanic. There are several factors contributing to this imbalance, including enculturation issues, but the main reason seems to be simple economics. Many inner-city Hispanic families (or families of other ethnicity!) simply cannot afford instrument rental/purchase or instruction, and the arts have not been a budgeting priority in Denver’s schools.

Because All Children Deserve Music Education...

Instrumentos’ mission is simple: to put musical instruments and instruction into the hands of as many economically disadvantaged Denver children as possible, but completely free of charge. The children choose from brass, wind, or string instruments, as well as piano and guitar, and they are also provided with ensemble opportunities. The ensembles and lessons are offered by Denver-area professional musicians and music educators on a mostly volunteer basis. The experience involves the entire family, because they assist with monitoring practice and attendance and are also required to volunteer time and their own talents to help assure the success of the music program.

Why Have this Program?

We see that lack of access to music education is more than just a lack of an aesthetic fringe benefit. Much research has been conducted that shows how music studies impact a child’s IQ levels and cognitive abilities.

We know that the increased spatial reasoning ability in children who study music makes absorption of math and science concepts much easier…in fact, music truly does make children smarter. Smarter kids tend to go to college.

It is logical to state, therefore, that the economically disadvantaged children that participate in Instrumentos de la Libertad are moving farther and farther away from a future of a low-wage job or public assistance because they will be much more likely to accept complex learning at school, go on to college and earn a degree, and become taxpayers that contribute to this society. Society often regards these children as future welfare recipients because their parents are primarily Spanish-speaking, so our collective efforts to give them opportunities to craft a different future are very simply an investment in the economic viability of our society at large.

Another positive benefit of bringing music to the lives of these children is the fact that we create music consumers of the future. In today’s society, the arts are under attack due to reduced federal funding for new arts projects, low attendance at cultural events such as opera and symphony, and the fact that kids don't learn about music and the arts in school in the first place. Not only should we be interested in society’s economic viability, but also with the survival of the musical arts.

Current Events (click here for more news)

Our program is approaching its second year of existence, and we have achieved several milestones. First and foremost, we have achieved 501 (c) (3) status, retroactively effective August 2004. Second, most of our 45 students are two-year veterans, and many of them have progressed enough to join their middle- and high-school band ensembles. We even had a piano student audition for the Denver School of the Arts this past spring.

We have formed a “working” board to wade through our start-up tasks, and we are gathering potential candidates for an executive advisory board. Our working board is planning several fundraising events, including the “Gigantic Yard Sale” in collaboration with a St. Joseph's Church of Denver, who generously provides us with space in which to hold lessons and ensemble practices. We also have plans to host a Mardi Gras Bash in February 2006 at St. Joseph's as well.

Generous Local Support

We have been blessed with generous support from some Denver music institutions, including a monthly stipend from the Denver Jazz Club (a traditional jazz society) and a sizeable contribution from Flesher-Hinton Music and Kristi Flesher. Additionally, Meis Musical Instrument Repair of Lakewood, Colorado, donated 50 different instruments and has pledged to continue the free instrument repair service they have been offering to us. As you can imagine, this service alone is invaluable, since kids are hard on instruments!

Our beautiful logo (as well as current advertising materials) were all designed by Jill Delage of Pony Design. The website has (and continues to be) constructed and updated by Andrea Mérida of Tsunami Administrative Outsourcing, LLC (who happens to be our board president as well).

In addition to the generous local support we have received, we count the Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Mark Kjos as our guardian angels. They donated ALL the music books we need for the 2005-2006 session. Thanks to them, every one of our kids will receive a new set of books for their lessons and ensemble practices. Even if you don't have interest in playing an instrument, buy something from them anyway!

Learn more about each of our wonderful corporate supporters by placing your mouse pointer over "partners" at the top of this page.