Sir Elton John Yamaha/NAMM Concert Raises $330,000 for Music Education Charities

The 2003 NAMM Concert Honoring Sir Elton John, presented by Yamaha, is estimated to have raised $330,000 to benefit music education and research, according to event organizers. The star-studded benefit was held January 17 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim and was a highlight of the 2003 NAMM Show, the annual convention of the International Music Products Association that took place January 16–19 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

This first-ever concert tribute to Sir Elton John was also the first large-scale concert benefit presented by NAMM and Yamaha in support of music education. The concert was produced by Yamaha’s Corporate Director of Artist Affairs, Chris Gero, with Tara Eifert serving as associate producer.
 

Beneficiaries of the funds raised by the event include The American Music Conference (AMC), The International Foundation for Music Research (IFMR) and The Museum of Making Music.

“Yamaha is honored to have been involved in this partnership with NAMM and the music products industry,” said Terry Lewis, Senior Vice President at Yamaha. “The support that was generated for these worthy causes will have benefits for many years to come. It was also gratifying to see so many Winter NAMM attendees having such a good time at the concert. We at Yamaha felt an enormous responsibility to deliver a quality event that everyone could enjoy.”

“This benefit concert embodied NAMM’s mission to unify the industry and create more active music makers. Supporting music education and research is essential to our industry’s growth,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. “We’re very grateful to NAMM Members, Yamaha, Elton John, the artists and the countless people behind the scenes who made this memorable evening possible.”

Hosted by Emmy-Award winner “Will & Grace” star Eric McCormack, some of the world’s most popular artists participated in the concert, each performing an Elton John classic. The concert rundown featured Nikka Costa (“Levon”), Rufus Wainwright ("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”), Eric McCormack (“Captain Fantastic”), Bruce Hornsby (“Burn Down The Mission”), Jewel (“Your Song”), Brian McKnight (“Rocket Man”), Norah Jones (“Tiny Dancer”), Brian Wilson (“Someone Saved My Life Tonight”), Randy Newman (“Benny And The Jets”), Diana Krall (“Border Song”), Take 6 (“Philadelphia Freedom”), Vanessa Carlton (“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”), Ray Charles (“Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”), Michael McDonald (“Take Me To the Pilot”), Carmen Twilie and the Circle of Life Choir (tribute to “The Lion King”) and John Mayer (a duet with Elton John on “Sacrifice”).

Elton John then hit the stage, entertaining the audience for more than an hour with a selection of songs, including several from his RIAA Platinum-Certified “Elton John Greatest Hits 1970–2002” (Universal). To end the evening, Yamaha Senior Vice President Terry Lewis presented Elton with Yamaha’s Lifetime Achievement in Musical Excellence Award and then all the performers returned to the stage for the grand finale, “Crocodile Rock.”

About Yamaha
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products, customer-driven support products and computer-based products targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.

About AMC
The American Music Conference is dedicated to promoting the importance of music, music making and music education to the general public. For more information about AMC and this new partnership, visit www.amc-music.org.

About The Museum of Making Music
The mission of the Museum of Making Music is to celebrate the rich history and encourage the future of music making. The one-of-a-kind museum invites all NAMM Members to tour the museum FREE of charge. Located in the NAMM Industry Headquarters in beautiful Carlsbad, Calif., the museum is a great way to experience firsthand the impact of the music products industry over the last 100 years. For more information about the museum or its activities, interested parties should call 877.551.9976 or visit www.museumofmakingmusic.org.

About IFMR
The International Foundation for Music Research (IFMR) was founded in 1997 to support scientific research to explore the relationship between music and physical and emotional wellness, with particular attention to the elderly population, the impact of music making on at-risk youth, and music education and the effect of music and music making. IFMR also convenes scientists, educators and others around critical issues in music research and disseminates research through its publication, IFMR News, and various on-line research referral services and archives. For more information about IFMR, interested parties should visit www.music-research.org.