The Oxford Arts Alliance has received a musical instrument grant from Reverb, the largest online marketplace dedicated to buying and selling musical instruments. Thanks to the marketplace's Reverb Gives initiative; the Oxford Arts Alliance will be able to put more instruments into the hands of students in its Academy of Music. 

“As COVID-19 has had a massive impact on how our students interact and learn, we are incredibly thankful for Reverb Gives for supporting our mission of providing a collaborative platform allowing music to flourish in our community through this grant,” said Anthony Derrico, the executive director at the Oxford Arts Alliance. “We're so disconnected from each other these days, but Reverb Gives has given us a fantastic opportunity to continue making music in this community and begin giving our 150 music students a place to play together again.”

The Oxford Arts Alliance has acquired $2500 in musical equipment, including amplifiers, microphones, soundproofing material, percussion instruments, and audio interfaces to build an open studio for the students to use and continue making the community musical. Additionally, be on the lookout for more street performances at First Friday and other recitals throughout the year, thanks to the equipment acquired in this grant. 

"Reverb's mission is to make the world more musical because we know firsthand the positive impact that making music can have on someone,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO at Reverb. “Playing an instrument can build confidence, ease stress, build community, and so much more. Like the Oxford Arts Alliance, we also know what an incredible tool a musical instrument can be when it comes to empowering young people. We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to these students' musical journeys and we're excited to see what these new musical instruments will spark for them."

Reverb is an online marketplace where anyone can buy and sell new, used, and vintage musical instruments. A portion of every purchase made on Reverb goes to Reverb Gives, which has been providing musical instruments to youth music organizations around the world since 2018. To learn more about Reverb Gives, visitwww.reverbgives.com.

The Oxford Arts Alliance is a community-based nonprofit organization providing leadership and advocacy for the arts and culture. It seeks to provide a collaborative platform to allow arts and culture to flourish in our community for all people regardless of differences in ethnic origin, education, economic level, age, or disability. Arts and culture elevate people and stimulate increased economic development leading to a sense of community and thus well-being among all residents. 

For more information, visit www.oxfordart.org or call 610-467-0301.