Dear Friends,
I’ve spent sixty years watching the world respond to music. I’ve seen the "folk era" galvanize a generation and have witnessed songs become anthems of history. But I’ve also noted something troubling: the general acceptance of a "starving artist" as a prerequisite for their role in social change.
When Liz and I founded Music to Life, we decided to challenge that trope. For those musicians who truly desire to make a difference in a community, they need more than a guitar and a grievance - they need a strategic approach, a business plan, and a sustainable seat at the table.
Our three-year sustainability campaign, Tuning into Change, moves beyond the power of a song and builds a musician-driven approach to change.
As a result, a new kind of leader is emerging - the Musician Changemaker. These are the artists who view their craft as a social enterprise. They aren't merely performing for a cause; they are building solutions.
Here are some examples of these aspiring Changemakers and their projects from our Spring 2026 MCA Academy:
Pasadena-based musician and educator Marwan Nassar is working with Music to Life to expand his organization Treehouse Music, a community-rooted music education initiative, to bridge the gap in arts accessibility for kids in lower-income communities.
Hip Hop artist Amber Epps is an educator, interdisciplinary visual artist, and healing and spiritual arts practitioner. Her work with Music to Life centers around bringing to life the songs and stories written by incarcerated individuals, exposing the racist history of mass incarceration.
Bo Shimmin (Pueblo of Acoma) is a dynamic and versatile tenor dedicated to fostering the next generation of indigenous artists. His Music to Life project is to develop a touring opera and classical music collective for Native communities of the Southwest.
The "pipeline" of talent is overflowing but our capacity to train, mentor and fund them as social entrepreneurs must grow to match it. Tuning into Change was created in response to this need and aims to raise $1.5 million between 2026 and 2028.
Your commitment to this sustainability campaign is an investment in this new infrastructure. By joining us today, you’ll provide the necessary resources for artists who are addressing the issues of our time.
I invite you to learn more about how you can tune into change through our Case for Support.
The music has always been there. Now, it’s time to ensure that the ingenuity and courage of these community-focused artists is not sidelined by a lack of resources.
With peace and purpose,
NPS SIG
Noel Paul Stookey
Co-Founder, Music to Life