Leaders From Top Music and Arts Foundations and Organizations Form MIC (Music Impact Coalition), To Ensure Every Student Gets Equitable Access To Music Education

Launching in Los Angeles during music's biggest week with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, and presented by Let Music Fill My World and Artist For Artist®, the coalition will deploy a grant of $2 million to pilot programs in two strategically selected states to inform data-driven results for a national rollout

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Leaders From Top Music and Arts Foundations and Organizations Form MIC (Music Impact Coalition), To Ensure Every Student Gets Equitable Access To

Music Education

Launching in Los Angeles during music's biggest week with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, and presented by Let Music Fill My World and Artist For Artist®, the coalition will deploy a grant of $2 million to pilot programs in two strategically selected states to inform data-driven results for a

national rollout

Kicking off with an Impact Summit in Memphis, including the Recording Academy®, Save The Music, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, and Music Will, initiative to launch in two states with planned national rollout and awareness activations including Los Angeles and Austin

Los Angeles, CA: Let Music Fill My World, along with 20 of the nation's top music and arts foundations and organizations, have aligned on a shared mission: ensuring every student in America has access to high quality music and arts education, regardless of circumstance, location, or resources. Entitled MIC (Music Impact Coalition), the program will kick off in North Carolina and Ohio with this marking the start of a multi-state pilot initiative, funded through a $2 Million grant from Let Music Fill My World, that will test scalable models for equitable music education in public schools, with the goal of removing barriers to access and participation in music and arts education nationwide.

Members of the coalition includes Adopt the Arts, Americans for the Arts, Artist For Artist®, Arts Education Partnership, Creating Abundance Collaborative, D'Addario Foundation, Give a Note Foundation, GRAMMY Museum®, Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts, The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Let Music Fill My World, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, Music Will, NAMM Foundation, NASAA, National Association for Music Education, NORC, Save The Music, the Recording Academy®, and Tullman Family Office.

"When members of the Music Impact Coalition gathered in Memphis this past October, the summit reaffirmed a shared truth: systemic change cannot be achieved in isolation," said Cayley Tull, co-founder of Let Music Fill My World. "We believe every student in America deserves access to the kind of music education that helps them grow into confident, capable adults. Music is more than an art form—it is a powerful tool that builds durable skills, strengthens school communities, and supports student wellbeing. By partnering deeply with state leaders in Ohio and North Carolina, we're developing a model that shows how music education can deliver meaningful results for students, schools, and entire communities nationwide."

Research shows that expanding access to arts education delivers powerful academic, behavioral, and social-emotional benefits for students.

• Students who participated in significantly more arts learning experiences had 36% fewer disciplinary incidents, stronger writing skills, and greater compassion for others compared to their peers.
• Specifically, students in schools with increased arts education experienced a 3.6-percentage-point drop in disciplinary infractions, a meaningful boost in standardized writing scores, and a notable rise in empathy and concern for others. These students were more likely to care about how others feel and to want to help people who are treated unfairly.
• Younger students exposed to more arts education showed higher engagement in school, stronger aspirations for college, and a greater ability to use art as a way to understand and empathize with others. They were more likely to say that schoolwork is enjoyable, sparks new ways of thinking, and offers programs and activities that keep them interested and motivated.

In short, arts education doesn't just enrich learning—it strengthens students academically, improves behavior, and helps build more empathetic, engaged young people.

Reference: Brookings RCT 2019

ABOUT LET MUSIC FILL MY WORLD:

In 2023, Cayley Tull, President of the Tullman Family Office, and Grammy®-nominated artist John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting founded Let Music Fill My World (LMFMW), a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to music education in communities where it is most needed. The initiative launched at Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, where Ondrasik collaborated with eight students to co-write an original song, Let Music Fill My World, drawing directly from the students' lived experiences with music.

While decades of research underscore the role of music education in improving academic outcomes, strengthening social-emotional development, and increasing graduation rates, arts programs continue to be disproportionately cut in schools nationwide. Established as an independent 501(c)(3) and fully funded by the Tullman Family Office, LMFMW was created to move beyond a single collaboration and drive long-term, systemic impact.

Through strategic investments, cross-sector partnerships, and compelling storytelling, Let Music Fill My World works to ensure that every student—regardless of ZIP code—has access to high-quality music education and the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Learn more at letmusicfillmyworld.org

ABOUT THE TULLMAN FAMILY OFFICE:

The Tullman Family Office (TFO) is the engine behind the philanthropic, political, and social impact efforts of the Chicago-based Tullman family. By pairing strategic investments with high-impact grantmaking and community-driven partnerships, TFO works to advance equity, expand opportunity, and catalyze change on some of today's most urgent issues. Its initiatives span education, economic mobility, healthcare, civic engagement, and innovation in public systems—all rooted in a deep belief in human potential and the power of collective action.

Learn more at tullmanfamilyoffice.org

ABOUT ARTIST FOR ARTIST:

Founded in 2018 by Matthew Reich and Neal Saini, Artist For Artist® (AFA) is a New York City-based experiential agency specializing in music and culture. As former bandmates with years of industry experience, Reich and Saini bring both artistic credibility and business acumen to music-related campaigns, enabling them to create authentic partnerships between brands and musicians that deliver lasting impact. From intimate sessions to global campaigns, AFA helps partners craft moments that resonate. Reich and Saini also founded Artist For Action®, a coalition of musicians - including Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, and Kevin Bacon - dedicated to ending gun violence and raising mental health awareness.

ABOUT MIC (Music Impact Coalition)

Founded in 2025 and fueled by Let Music Fill My World and Artist For Artist®, the Music Impact Coalition (MIC) is a national alliance of more than 20 of the country's leading music and arts foundations and organizations aligned around a shared mission: ensuring every student in America has access to high quality music and arts education, regardless of circumstance, location, or resources. By bringing together nonprofits, cultural institutions, educators, and research organizations, MIC works to advance equitable access to music education through collaboration, shared learning, and scalable solutions that strengthen public education and student wellbeing nationwide.

The program will kick off in North Carolina and Ohio with this marking the start of a multi-state pilot initiative, funded through a $2 Million grant from Let Music Fill My World, that will test scalable models for equitable music education in public schools, with the goal of removing barriers to access and participation in music and arts education nationwide.

Members of the coalition include Adopt the Arts, Americans for the Arts, Artist For Artist®, Arts Education Partnership, Creating Abundance Collaborative, D'Addario Foundation, Give a Note Foundation, GRAMMY Museum, Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts, The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Let Music Fill My World, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, Music Will, The NAMM Foundation, NASAA, National Association for Music Education, NORC, Save The Music, the Recording Academy®, and Tullman Family Office.

Press Contact:

Ed James

CHQ Media

edjames@chqmedia.com

917-593-4628

Media Contact

Edward James, CHQ Media, 1 9175934628, edjames@chqmedia.com 

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SOURCE Let Music Fill My World