When Palm Springs Unified School District Superintendent Tony Signoret was in college during the '80s in Los Angeles, he saw Guns N' Roses perform a concert before the iconic rock band signed a record contract. He was surprised last year during a cabinet meeting when he came across a proposal by the band's former drummer Matt Sorum.
Signoret said he was "thrilled" when he saw that proposal from Sorum's music education nonprofit, Adopt the Arts, which is going into effect in four of the district's elementary schools during the 2024-25 school year with plans to expand the program to two more during the second semester. Funding is being provided entirely by Adopt the Arts and will not cost the district any money.
On Monday, GoodNoise studio in Palm Springs , which is owned by Sorum and musician Jason Mendelson, hosted an open house to celebrate the launch of the program.
"There's enough funding now that ensures the arts are not cut from budgets, even as we're coming into tighter fiscal times over the next couple of years," Signoret said. "There's a lot of state support for that, and we're blessed our school board has always prioritized the visual and performing arts. That's been a big priority for us over many years. It's not just about donating and bringing in instruments, it's providing mentorship from professional musicians."
The curriculum includes expanded music education fundamentals and lessons, but it also places an emphasis on cultural understanding, creativity and expression, emotional and social development, integration with other school subjects, and body awareness and movement.
"(Students) can go home to their parents and say 'I learned about Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 and the rhythms of Brazil," Sorum said. "Culturally, they're going to learn the mathematics and the connection of playing music together. And then not only that, but mindfulness. When I feel anxiety, I get on the drums and it makes me feel better."
Matt Sorum started Adopt the Arts in 2012
When the Los Angeles Unified School District made the decision to make cuts to the arts in 2012, Sorum found himself in downtown Los Angeles during a rally to say "you can't do that." He later attended a school board meeting, met privately with then superintendent John Deasy to work on a plan to save music education and started raising money for Adopt the Arts.
Some of the foundation's supporters include Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top , Metallica , Queen, Slash of Guns N' Roses , visual artist Shepard Fairey and more.
"It's grown from Los Angeles to the desert because I moved here ," Sorum said . " I feel like Palm Springs has been a place I've been able to move my ideas in. It's a small town community vibe here. Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley has always gravitated towards music, artists and entertainers. Why not be one of those communities that sets the standard? People could look at us like Paris was in the '50s when Miles Davis and John Coltrane moved there because no one in America cared at the time."
Sorum is not only passionate about giving back to the community, but the Mission Viejo native explained his enthusiasm for music education comes from his roots. His mother was a piano teacher and director of several music programs in schools throughout Orange County.
"I wish I would have taken more (piano) lessons from her even though I gravitated towards the drums," Sorum said. "She had a hub of 27 schools and at the end of the school year, we'd all go perform at the Anaheim Convention Center. Everyone would learn the same material and same curriculum. For the American Bicentennial in 1976, we went and did 1,776 members in a marching band. We all learned the same setlist. In the same ilk, I'm like 'Let's do something where we can all be a group in a massive way.'"
PSUSD later corrected Signoret on the number of elementary schools in the district offering the program.
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Former Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum works with Palm Springs Unified on music program
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