For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2002

Contact:
Debra DiMaio (dkoke@giles.com)
Giles Communications
(914) 798-7134

Sesame Street’s Elmo Visits Congress on Behalf of Music Education

–Joins NAMM’s Joe Lamond to Request Funding From House Appropriations Subcommittee–

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2002)—Elmo, the beloved Muppet character from television’s Sesame Street, made his first-ever appearance before Congress today in support of school music education. At a public hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, the popular Muppet joined NAMM-International Music Products Association President and CEO Joe Lamond in asking for $2 million in federal funding to help make sure every child has access to quality music instruction.

"Elmo loves to sing and to dance and to make music with all his friends on Sesame Street," Elmo said. "It helps Elmo learn ABCs and makes it easier for Elmo to remember things. Sometimes it makes Elmo excited, and sometimes it calms Elmo down—Elmo’s teacher really likes that!"

The $2 million funding request included $1 million to support the International Foundation for Music Research, a non-profit organization exploring the relationship between music making and cognitive development, and $1 million to support the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and similar initiatives dedicated to restoring school music programs.

"The federal budget is tight, and like the rest of us, you must prioritize," Lamond told the members of Congress. "However, in the education arena, I can think of no other initiative that can do so much for so many children for so small an investment."

The message Lamond and Elmo conveyed was that music education is a vital a core subject, not an optional elective. Mounting scientific research and real-world experience demonstrates how active music making boosts young children’s cognitive development and helps them perform better in reading, math, concentration and social skills. Physicists mapping the inner workings of the brain have found patterns that resemble music, and new studies indicate music predates even language as part of the human experience.

The practical application of this knowledge can have dramatic results, Lamond said: for example, after the dormant music program was restored at Public School 96 in East Harlem in 1999, the number of students reading at grade level increased from 13 percent to 71 percent within eighteen months. Still, music programs are often the first ones cut when school districts face budget trouble. "Elmo’s friend Joe Lamond says some kids don’t have music in school," Elmo said. "That makes Elmo sad."

Elmo, who is three-and-a-half years old, came from Sesame Street to Washington to speak on behalf of young children everywhere. Last fall, he and other Muppet characters starred in "Music Works Wonders," a video toolkit designed to show parents, educators and caregivers how adults and kids can make music together without special equipment or training. As a partner with Sesame Workshop, the producers of Sesame Street, NAMM distributed these kits at no charge to more than 150,000 day care centers, preschools and Head Start programs. The toolkit was part of an ongoing multimedia initiative entitled Sesame Street Music Works, which also includes a special website at www.sesamestreet.com and music-specific content on the Sesame Street television program.

The 17-member House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education is chaired by Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio). Elmo’s appearance took place at the invitation and with the assistance of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-California).

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About NAMM:
NAMM, founded in 1901, is the international voice of the music products industry, representing more than 7,700 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and publishers in the United States and more than 85 other countries. NAMM is dedicated to growing the global music products industry through the development of groundbreaking research, programs and partnerships that create more active music makers worldwide. Interested parties who want more information about NAMM can visit www.namm.com or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).