Center for Music National Service

By David Watterson via ServiceArtist.net - May 2, 2011

This past Friday, April 29th, Kiff Gallagher, the CEO and Founder of The Center for Music National Service came to Little Rock, Arkansas to spread his passion and vision for music as national service. It was my great pleasure to introduce him to the Little Rock community prior to his speech at the Clinton School of Public Service. As a student at the Clinton School, I worked with Kiff and the Center for Music National Service for my final "Capstone" public service project, so it was great to have it come full circle by having Kiff speak as part of the school's distinguished lecture series.

Kiff Gallagher presenting on music and service (see video below) | Photo by Jacob Slaton

Kiff spoke for about a half hour, laying out the vision for the music national service movement and the steps that have been taken so far with MusicianCorps, advocacy work, and even this website - ServiceArtist.net. Knowing his audience well, Kiff tailored his speech with many references to his past connection and ongoing inspiration with President Clinton, a well-known saxophonist and lover of music. The audience was highly engaged in the speech and asked many questions following Kiff's presentation.

Musicians serve at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock

Following the speech, Kiff joined me and a number of other local musicians at a "Music Day" service event at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. Comprised of musicians from the Clinton School, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and the Natural State Brass Band, our group had a blast playing music for the kids there, and loved having them sing and play along on percussion. One little girl even asked me if she could take over for me on keyboard, to which I happily obliged. It was rewarding to see the smiles and camaraderie that could be created by bringing a little bit of music and a whole lot of love to these kids. Without a doubt, the smiles were mutual.

The Little Rock Service Artist crew at Arkansas Children's Hospital

Click here to view Kiff Gallagher visits Clinton School of Public Service slideshow

Click here to view Arkansas Children's Hospital Music Day Event slideshow