GITC Welcomes New Sponsor Oriolo Guitars!

Edition #21: February 2011

2011

Guitars in the Classroom Programs

Guitars in the Classroom's programs have begun nationwide. Congratulations to the GITC Faculty, and to all of the classroom teachers, parent volunteers, and support specialists everywhere taking their first step towards singing and strumming with kids. Below is a listing of where GITC will be offering programs for 2011. For more specific information, please visit our Programs page.

GITCMAP

Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

California

Berkeley, California

Encinitas/Cardiff, CA

North Hills, CA

Oakland, CA

Oakley, CA

Oceanside, CA

Oxnard, California

Redwood City, CA

San Diego, CA

San Jose, CA

Thousand Oaks, CA

Victorville, CA

Watsonville, CA

Colorado

Longmont, CO

Hawaii

Honolulu, HI (Manoa)

North Shore, HI

Kahului-Maui, HI

Lahaina-Maui, HI

Illinois

Chicago, IL

Evanston, IL

Kentucky

Pineville, KY

Louisiana

Mandeville, LA (Tammany Parish)

Abbeville, LA

(Vermilion Parish)

Maine

Portland, ME

Maryland

Salisbury, MD

Massachusetts

Lee/Lenox MA

Worcester, MA

Michigan

Traverse City, MI (several locations)

Mississippi

Ocean Springs, MI

Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

New Mexico

Crownpoint, NM

New York

Brooklyn, NY

Manhattan, NY

North Carolina

Wilmington, NC

Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tennessee

Nashville, TN

Vermont

Rutland, VT

Wyoming

Cheyenne, Wyoming

FYI: Flat Picks

GITC Pick

Did you know that some people go crazy over flat picks? Turns out that there are many bonified flat pick collectors out there who take their collecting pretty seriously. Think stamps, coins, etc. We learned about this when GITC heard last week from Arnaud, a French guitarist and collector of guitar picks. He had seen our special GITC branded flat pick on another collector's site and wrote to ask if we would send one to him in France! When asked how he knew about our org, he sent us to the site of another collector... Très intéressant!

Oriolo Guitars Donates New Guitars to

GITC's AMIGO Program in Redwood City, CA

This year, GITC instructor and Bay Area Regional Director Alisa Peres is teaming up with the Sobrato Family Foundation to participate in very special program called "SEAL." - the Sobrato Early Academic Literacy program.

The Sobrato Early Academic Literacy Program for English Learner Success is a preschool-third grade pilot program designed to build the capacity of Silicon Valley preschools and elementary schools to powerfully develop the language and literacy skills of hundreds of young Latino immigrant children. Guitars in the Classroom's NAMM Foundation-funded AMIGO model of teacher training is a perfect partner to help SEAL achieve its objectives. To learn more about it, click here.

GITC is currently training dozens of teachers in San Jose and Redwood City, California, communities with very large populations of children whose primary language is Spanish. Samick Guitars, Godin Guitars, and Hohner Guitars generously contributed beautiful loaner guitars for the teachers in the GITC SEAL programs that started in October in San Jose! We are most grateful to these longtime, benevolent sponsors of GITC's mission to make education a musical experience for every child!

Now GITC would like to welcome Oriolo Guitars to the GITC family as our newest guitar sponsor! We are so grateful for this partnership and assistance getting delightful instruments into the hands of teachers!

Oriolo Guitars is the labor of love and brain child of Don Oriolo, known in the music business for his talent in front of the mic and behind very successful musical projects. Don is considered the "Felix the Cat Guy" as his father created and cartooned Felix, and Don has taken the Felix tradition forward with his own artwork. You can enjoy Don's Felix blog online here, and for you Felix fans, visit the official Felix the Cat website. Oriolo Guitar's technical advisor and design co-conspirator is the renowned Tony DiDomenico! To learn more about this remarkable luthier, please visit his site.

Last month, minutes before the first SEAL program in Redwood City started, a giant shipment of Oriolo Guitars arrived at Hoover Community School so teachers in training could borrow instruments on which to learn to play and lead music. What follows below is the story in photos of the guitars' arrival and the teachers' very first guitar lesson! Thanks to Heidi Holmoe, the Redwood City School District Facilitator for the SEAL Program for taking these gorgeous photos and sharing them with Guitars in the Classroom. Please enjoy!

Teachers opening shipment of guitars from Don Oriolo

GITC Instructor Alisa Peres tuning the guitars for class