Meet Kirk Johnson of SOUNDS Academy in Downtown Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirk Johnson.

Kirk, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began my musical journey in when I was five years old in Boston, Massachusetts with Project STEP. Through this program, I learned to play the violin and viola, took theory classes, and participated in chamber music and orchestral playing. While participating in the Preparatory School of New England Conservatory, I worked with conductors like Benjamin Zander and toured countries like Italy, Mexico, and Cuba.

After graduating from high school in Boston, I attended Indiana University. It is here that I was introduced to the world of string pedagogy under the guidance of Mimi Zweig. After graduating with a BM in Viola Performance and a MEd from Indiana University, I was inspired by my experiences with Project STEP, New England Conservatory of Music, and The IU String Academy, to found several music programs, conduct youth orchestras, and teach in Title 1 (lower income) schools.

After noticing the discrepancies in the access to music education in different states, I decided to move back to Phoenix and found SOUNDS Academy in 2014. Over the past five years, SOUNDS Academy has provided over 8,000 lessons and classes to children, while impacting an addition 11,000 students through the Musical Access Program, where students attend concerts, interact with musicians, and are introduced to the student in SOUNDS Academy’s Instrument Petting Zoos.

Today, SOUNDS Academy holds classes in ten locations and has 300 students who create impactful stories that show the power of music.

As the Founder and Director of SOUNDS Academy, I feel that it is important to remove any barriers that prevent children from gaining music education opportunities.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been more like a thrilling roller coaster! I’m so grateful for all of the challenges that I have faced to get me to where I am today. In SOUNDS Academy, we talk a lot about resilience. I think that with any obstacle, it’s important to learn how to get back up and try again.

I would say that one of the biggest challenges for me was public speaking. When I first started SOUNDS Academy, speaking to people about what we were doing was difficult for me. Furthermore, I then found opportunities through SEED SPOT and Social Venture Partners to speak in front of large audiences about SOUNDS Academy. Speaking in front of small audiences was terrifying to me. However, I was fortunate to have mentors that helped to develop my public speaking skills. Beyond constantly practicing in front of them, it was suggested that I join Toastmasters in order to develop my public speaking skills. Although I still get nervous speaking in front of audiences, I have learned to mask that nervousness. I have also learned how to communicate my passion for music education and communicate the work that SOUNDS Academy is doing to impact the lives of children in Arizona.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
SOUNDS Academy is a non-profit music education organization that teaches, mentors, and provides musical experiences and opportunities for underserved youth. Students receive individual lessons, group classes, and perform on the violin, viola, cello, guitar, and piano. Instruments are provided to those who cannot afford one. In SOUNDS Academy students learn the character values of creativity, leadership, perseverance, resilience, and teamwork through music education. We teach these values in our Musical Access Program, which connects students to live music and instruments through our Instrument Petting Zoos, our School Programs for lower-income schools and community centers, and our SOLO Program, which provides one-on-one instruction.

Our mission is to teach, mentor, and provide musical experiences and opportunities to underserved youth. The vision of SOUNDS Academy is to provide music education opportunities to a wide variety of children while removing any barriers that children may have in receiving quality music education.

SOUNDS Academy has given over 8,000 lessons and classes to students in Arizona. Over 11,000 students have been exposed to musical performance or Instrument Petting Zoos through our Musical Access Program. We have given over $60,000 in scholarships for students to take lessons and classes so that they can learn how to play instruments. The greatest impact that we have made is in creating a pathway for students to go to college. 100% of the students who graduate from our SOLO Program now attend a college or university to pursue various degrees such as biology, business, and music education!

What is your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories would be the time that I spent with my family in Jamaica. Although my immediate family lived in Boston, we would go to Jamaica every summer to visit grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc. My birthday celebrations were on the same day as a wedding anniversary of one of my uncles/aunts. This would serve as a family reunion every year. Once, we celebrated at the restaurant of a relative which was located on the beach and by the airport in Kingston, Jamaica. I remember sitting outside with my siblings and cousins, watching the stars, and watching the airplanes fly into and out of the airport. As youngsters, we would guess where the planes were going to and coming from. This would lead to us talking about where we would travel. Even in my younger years, I was always a big dreamer.

Contact Info:

• Address: SOUNDS Academy
  1202 N 3rd St.
  Phoenix, AZ 85004
• Website: www.soundsacademy.org
• Phone: 623-349-4774
• Email: info@soundsacademy.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundsacademy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundsacademy.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/soundsmaestro

Image Credit:
AlwaysTimelessProductions

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