Piper Fellow:
Kirk Johnson

Out of this belief, he founded SOUNDS Academy, a nonprofit music education organization that teaches, mentors, and provides musical experiences and opportunities for underserved youth. Further, the Academy teaches character values through music education. Johnson began his musical journey in Boston, Massachusetts with Project STEP and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where he learned to play the violin and viola, took theory classes, and played in chamber music groups and orchestras that toured in countries like Italy, Mexico, and Cuba. Johnson has guided SOUNDS Academy in providing over 62,000 lessons and classes to children and impacted an additional 21,000 students through the Musical Access program, where students attend concerts and are introduced to instruments in SOUNDS Academy’s “Instrument Petting Zoos.” In addition to students building confidence through performing in concerts, SOUNDS Academy is also making an academic impact, with 100% of the students in its SOLO program being accepted into college on scholarships.

The Piper Fellowship will allow Johnson the opportunity to lay the groundwork for SOUNDS Academy to bring a youth performing arts center to the Southwest Valley. He will start the year by attending the Sphinx Connect Conference, a social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Throughout the year, he will visit three renowned music education programs in the country to learn best practices in managing a high-level music education program. As he learns and reflects on how to implement the lessons learned with SOUNDS Academy, he will also participate in executive coaching sessions and take classes that will focus on program evaluation, developing major gifts, and managing a capital campaign so he can expand the access to music education opportunities for Arizona youth.