Carson City elementary school receives $16,000 music education grant

Mark Twain Elementary School has received a $16,000 music education grant it will use to purchase new musical instruments including a 50-piece world drumming set, steel drums, hand chimes and various other percussion instruments.

Christina Bourne, Mark Twain Elementary’s music educator, applied for an $8,000 grant, which was later doubled through the Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded and run entirely by Phish fans. The foundation recently announced 16 grants totaling $137,400 in support of music education for children at schools, centers and non-profit organizations in 15 states.

The grants came from Mockingbird’s 22 round of competitive grant-making and were enhanced by funds from the band’s own WaterWheel Foundation, which allowed the board to double three of the grant requests. Mark Twain Elementary School was one of the three grant requests where funds were doubled.

“We’re tremendously grateful for Ms. Bourne and her continued efforts to bring a skilled and robust musical education program to the students of Carson City,” superintendent Richard Stokes said. “Research and other studies continue to demonstrate how arts education enhance academic performance across various subjects including math and an overall improvement in test scores.”

The 16 grantees were selected from 643 initial applicants who requested more than $4.4 million. The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music.

For information about Phish, see the official Phish.com or Mockingbird’s own fan-run Phish.net. Tax-deductible donations may be made through the foundation’s website at www.mbird.org.