Programs
Camps & Festivals | Schools & Scholarships | Grants & Lessons | Performances
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Camps & Festivals
Summer Camps
Week-long camps, primarily for middle school students, offer master classes, music theory, note-reading, and proper practice skills. Camps are held at the Cypress Lake Middle School (MAP) in South Fort Myers. All faculty are active professional musicians and/or music teachers selected for their expertise and ability to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with the aspiring young musicians.
Double Reed Festival
The annual festival offers master classes, ensembles, reed making, and other skills for middle and high school oboe and bassoon players from the west coast of Florida. Faculty are professional musicians from around the state. The festival features a day of workshops, climaxed with a concert for the general public.
Schools & Scholarships
Traveling Music Instruments
Thirty-six instruments, two of each band and orchestra, are divided into two sets and spend the school year rotating through the 37 Lee County elementary schools. Fifth grade music teachers are encouraged to use and in some cases trained in techniques for the different instruments so they can encourage the students to try instruments that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Each set spends two weeks at a school, taking the entire school year to make one complete round. The instruments are maintained, repaired, and replaced by The Music Foundation as needed.
College Scholarships
Each year a Southwest Florida high school senior can receive a scholarship to Edison Community College to major in music. The recipients audition for and are accepted by the Music Department at the college.
.Scott Knipe Memorial Scholarship
The scholarship is for any High School music student residing in Lee County and is to be used for a summer music program out of state or at least outside of Lee County. The student must apply and be accepted to the program to receive the scholarship. Once all applications have been reviewed, the finalists will be asked to perform a brief solo or etude for the scholarship committee.
Grants & Lessons
Instrument and lesson grants
Donated instruments are repaired and then loaned to young musicians whose parents are unable to afford rental or ownership. If the students stay in their school bands until graduation, they own the instrument. There are currently 116 instruments in use throughout Lee County. Additionally, deserving students whose parents cannot afford private music lessons may receive grants to offset the cost of those lessons.
Special grants
Funds are donated to individuals and groups for musical and creative arts endeavors which encourage participation in the arts by students.
Oboe and Bassoon Lessons
Discounted rates are given for private lessons for beginning oboe and bassoon players
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Performances
Edison Community College
The Edison Community College Concert Band presents public performances at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall throughout the year. The Music Foundation provides music scholarships to students attending ECC and invites the public to hear the Concert Band at the free performances.
Summer Camps
Each Friday that one or more of The Music Foundation Summer Music Camps is in session, students present a recital at the Cypress Lake Middle School. The performances feature student soloists as well as small and large ensembles, depending on the camps in session that week. The public is invited to the free concerts, which begin at 3 PM.
In the community
The Music Foundation Double Reed Ensemble and other various ensembles made up of middle and high school students perform for community organizations and events throughout the year. In the past those organizations and events have included the Lee Memorial Health Park, the Iona McGregor Kiwanis Club, the Edison Festival of Lights, and Mills Price Associates.