The Les Paul Foundation Funds School Initiatives, Music Camps, Classroom Projects, and Hearing Health Programs

The Les Paul Foundation Funds School Initiatives, Music Camps, Classroom Projects, and Hearing Health Programs Recent 2017 Grant Recipients Announced

New York, New York – April 19, 2017 - The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to share the legacy of Les Paul, has continued its commitment to provide funding to projects that share Les Paul’s spirit. In 2017, recipient organizations are furthering Les Paul’s dreams and sharing his vision and innovation with their programs.

Organizations that have received funding from the most recent Les Paul Foundation grants include:

Birch Creek Music Performance Center of Egg Harbor, WI offers summer guitar jazz master classes that include discussions of Les Paul’s inventions, experiments and recording technique. Students can access additional Les Paul materials in the Listening/Media Library.

College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, as a leader in providing recording industry education, will be building two recording stations that will allow students to experiment and create new work using the historic techniques that changed the music industry.

The Hearing Health Foundation, headquartered in New York, NY, is the largest nonprofit supporter of hearing research. The Les Paul Foundation Award for Tinnitus Research is awarded annually to the most promising researcher studying the cause of ringing in the ears.

Les Paul Middle School in Waukesha, WI with funding from the Les Paul Foundation will create a hands-on space where students can explore and experiment. Reflecting on the inventions and innovations that came from Les Paul’s garage, school officials decided to create a similar space for students to explore and experiment. The "Maker Space” will provide students a place to share resources and knowledge, network, and collaborate on projects.

Litchfield Jazz Camp and Festival, productions of the nonprofit Litchfield Performing Arts, of Litchfield, CT host Nicki Parrott of the Les Paul Trio to conduct master classes at the Camp in New Milford and at Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen August 5th. Nicki shows the relevance of Les Paul’s music and legacy to hundreds of young musicians through these institutions.

New Voices Middle School of Brooklyn, NY received funding for its innovative audio production program that trains students to manage all tech elements for student productions. Students will learn about Les Paul via resources from the Les Paul Foundation website.

Sharon Lynne Wilson Center of Brookfield, WI will include a presentation about Les Paul’s impact on current recording and guitar performing techniques at its annual Guitar Festival. The event has attracted competitors from 16 countries. A guided tour of Discovery World’s Les Paul House of Sound will be included for competitors.

Shell Lake Arts Center of Shell Lake, WI received funding for its Rock Band and Guitar & Bass program to help fund master teachers who work with students of all ages and abilities. Students spend a week at summer camp playing music and celebrating Les Paul’s inventions and philosophy following video showings.

Strings Attached of Ferguson, MO received funding to reinforce its project that addresses social barriers that prevent youth ages 5-17 in working class families from music education. Youth learn to play guitar, ukulele and mandolin using loaner instruments and perform at community gatherings.

VH1 Save the Music of New York, NY received funding to support its mission to ensure that EVERY kid in America has access to music education. Select schools will be invited to participate in a program that introduces Les Paul’s legacy via a challenge for students to create their own sound after they learn how Les created his own sound."

Women’s Audio Mission of San Francisco, CA trains and advances over 1,200 women and girls every year in music technology and recording engineering. Les Paul’s story inspires students for their hands-on electronics projects.

“Les Paul spent his life encouraging others to be innovative and created opportunities that made the world a better place,” said Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of the Les Paul Foundation. “The organizations that have received grants perpetuate many of his philosophies and ideas. He would be very proud that our grantees are continuing his legacy and perpetuating the mission of his very beloved foundation through their work.”

ABOUT THE LES PAUL FOUNDATION:
The mission of the Les Paul Foundation is to honor and share the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul by supporting music education, engineering and innovation as well as medical research. The Les Paul Foundation is an approved IRC 501(c)3 organization that awards grants to music, music engineering and sound programs that serve youths. This year The Les Paul Foundation continues its celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Les Paul. The foundation also provides grants for medical research. The Les Paul Foundation also supports public exhibits which display Les Paul’s life achievements, events that engage fans and students and music releases and related launches which bring about excitement for the sound of Les Paul.  For more information go to www.lespaulfoundation.org.

Emerging Research Grants: 2017 Application Period is Now Open

The Les Paul Foundation Funds Music Camps, Classroom Projects, Museums, Hearing Health Programs and Veterans' Recovery

New York, New York – July 11, 2016 - The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to honor the legacy of Les Paul, has continued its commitment to provide funding to projects that share Les Paul’s spirit. In 2016, the recipient organizations represent issues that were important to Les Paul and share Les Paul’s vision and innovation with their programs.

“Les Paul encouraged all of us to be innovative and create opportunities so the world would become a better place,” said Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of the Les Paul Foundation. “The organizations that have received grants perpetuate many of his philosophies and ideas. This allows us at the foundation to continue his legacy and show support for his values.”

Organizations that have benefitted from recent Les Paul Foundation grants include:

Birch Creek Music Performance Center of Egg Harbor, WI offers a summer guitar master class that includes Les Paul’s inventions, experiments and recording technique.

The Bonaroo Works Fund of Nashville, TN coordinated with the Les Paul Foundation to present the first ever Les Paul Spirit Award. The Bonaroo Works Fund supports education, music and arts programs for children or communities, protection of the environment and environment sustainability, and the arts/humanities in middle Tennessee.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County of Hobe Sound, FL weaves Les Paul’s contribution to rock and roll into their Les Rock program. Youth, ages 8 – 18, learn about Les’ contribution to music production including multi-tracking.

Camp Spin Off Foundation of Las Vegas, NV, provides 13-17 year olds an opportunity to learn about music production, remixing, music business and how to DJ. Campers learn how crucial Les Paul’s recording innovations were to how music is produced today.

Discovery World in Milwaukee, WI is reinforcing its Les Paul House of Sound exhibit with two new Les Paul-based school programs.

First Stage Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WI is sharing Les Paul’s stories of perseverance and innovation with elementary students. Through the dramatic process, students explore Les Paul’s inventions, his influence on the music industry, his creativity and his ability to overcome life’s challenges.

Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers located in San Francisco, CA continues to include Les Paul in its presentations to music and sound arts schools and in its on-line presence. The organization focuses on encouraging youth to handle the power of sound in a safe manner.

The Hearing Health Foundation, headquartered in New York, NY, is the largest nonprofit supporter of hearing research. The Les Paul Foundation Award for Tinnitus Research is awarded annually to the most promising researcher studying the cause of ringing in the ears. This year’s recipient is Julia Campbell, Ph.D, Au.D, CCC-A, F-AAA, Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Texas at Austin.

“I am deeply honored to have received a grant award from the Les Paul Foundation to study brain function in the perception of tinnitus.  Tinnitus is a disorder that affects millions of people around the world, and yet we still have no way to measure this disorder or a cure for it.  Les Paul was an innovator, a dreamer, and a doer who loved to bring new sound into people’s lives.  I believe that his legacy is an inspiration to not only better understand tinnitus, but to use this knowledge to improve the quality of life in those it affects,” said Campbell.

Legacy Music Alliance in Salt Lake City, UT uses Les Paul’s story from the Les Paul Foundation website in guitar programs, which are taught in Utah’s schools. Musical instruments are purchased and provided to Utah schools for use by students.

Litchfield Music Alliance of Litchfield, CT hosts Nicki Parrott of the Les Paul Trio at its master classes. Nicki tells Les’ story and includes his music in her classes.

Mahwah Museum Society of Mahwah, NJ will be integrating digital technology into its permanent Les Paul exhibit to increase visitors’ access to documents, photos and videos of Les Paul.

Six String Heroes of Jefferson Barracks in O’Fallon, MO use music to help injured veterans heal physical and mental wounds. The group shares Les’ story of perseverance and how Les experienced the healing power of music.

VHI Save the Music of New York, NY receives funding for its program to reintroduce music into public schools across the United States through its supply of musical instruments to schools in need. Each school will receive copies of a student-friendly biography of Les Paul for use by students.

Waukesha Community Art Project of Waukesha, WI will relay Les Paul’s love of music and his unending curiosity and relentless search for answers to inspire students to ask their own questions and make their own discoveries.

Wisconsin School Music Association of Madison, WI will guide student musicians through the maze of music business so that they can succeed and protect their work. Les Paul’s story will illustrate for students how success comes from never giving up.

Women’s Audio Mission of San Francisco, CA focuses on advancing women in music production and technology. Les Paul’s story inspires students in their hands-on electronics projects. The organization aims to cultivate the female version of Les Paul.

For more information on the Les Paul Foundation go to www.lespaulfoundation.org. Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/lespaulfoundation or www.twitter.com/lespaulfoundation

Grant applications are accepted twice a year. http://www.lespaulfoundation.org/programs/.

PRESS CONTACT
Caroline Galloway

(440) 591-3807   caroline@m2mpr.com

2011 Grant Recipients Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                  
July 26, 2011                                                                                                                      

Contact:
Trisha Donaldson
212-257-6143
tdonaldson@drf.org
www.drf.org

DRF Increases grantmaking:  2011 Grant Recipients Announced

Deafness Research Foundation (DRF)’s National Hearing Health Grants Center is excited to announce that it has awarded over $600,000 to 25 outstanding research scientists in the field of hearing and balance science.  For two years in a row, we are excited to announce an increase in our grantmaking.

Each year, DRF awards research grants to young investigators who are exploring new avenues of hearing and balance science. These funds will support research in the following areas:

• Fundamental Auditory Research – development, genetics, molecular biology, physiology, anatomy, and regeneration biology;

• Hearing and Balance Restoration – infants, children and adults

  • cochlear implant, auditory hair cell regeneration, and auditory nerve regeneration;

• Hearing Loss – aging, noise-induced, otosclerosis, ototoxicity, and otitis media;

• Central Auditory Processing Disorder;

• Usher Syndrome; and

• Vestibular and Balance Disorders (dizziness and vertigo, Meniere's disease).

For this year's grants selection, DRF's Council of Scientific Trustees reviewed applications from scientists at renowned research institutions around the U.S.  The selected research projects received detailed peer review for scientific merit and program relevance.  A complete list of the 2011 grant recipients is provided below, including recipients whose research is funded in whole or part by the DRF Centurion Clinical Research Award, the C.H.E.A.R. Endowment Award, Collette Ramsey Baker Research Award, and The Todd M. Bader Research Grant of The Barbara Epstein Foundation, Inc.

FIRST YEAR HEARING & BALANCE RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS
Keith E. Bryan, Ph.D., University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine
Investigating the role of cabp1 in kcnq4 channel modulation

Brenton G. Cooper, Ph.D., Texas Christian University
Lateralization of acoustic perception in Bengalese finches

Regie Lyn P. Santos-Cortez, M.D., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
Identification of genes that predispose to chronic otitis media in the at population of Bolabog, Boracay island, Philippines

Elizabeth Dinces, M.D., M.S., Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Effects of aging on selective attention in complex multi-source sound environments

Carolyn P. Ojano-Dirain, Ph.D., The University of Florida College of Medicine
Prevention of aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss with the mitochondria-targeted

Sung-Ho Huh, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
Role of fgfs in cochlear sensory epithelium

Albena Kantardzhieva, Ph.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Defining the interaction partners of major proteins in the hair cell's synaptic ribbon

Shuh-Yow Lin, Ph.D., The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
Molecular mechanisms of synaptic transmission in hair cells

Debashree Mukherjea, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Targeting inflammation in prevention and treatment of noise induced hearing loss

Erin K. Purcell, Ph.D., The University of Michigan, Kresge Hearing Research Institute
A stem cell-seeded nanofibrous scaffold for auditory nerve regeneration

Zlatka P. Stojanova, Ph.D., House Research Institute
Epigenetic regulation of the atoh1 gene

Jie Tang, Ph.D., Creighton University School of Medicine
Creation of a pendrin with both motor and transport functions

Ellen S. Wilch, Ph.D., Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Identification of cis-regulatory gjb2 and gjb6 elements by chromosome conformation capture and investigation of potential cis-regulatory variants in persons with hearing loss and monoallelic mutation of gjb2

Hsiao-Huei Wu, Ph.D., The University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Regulation of inner ear development by hgf, the nonsyndromic hearing loss gene, dfnb39

SECOND YEAR HEARING & BALANCE RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS
Edward L. Bartlett, Ph.D., Purdue University
Cellular bases of temporal auditory processing

Soyoun Cho, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Dynamics of exo- and endocytosis at hair cells

Frances Hannan, Ph.D., New York Medical College
The role of diaphanous in the auditory cytoskeleton

Michelle Hastings, Ph.D., Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Therapeutic correction of ush1c splicing in a mouse model of usher syndrome

Zhengqing Hu, M.D., Ph.D., Wayne State University School of Medicine
Innervation of in vitro-produced hair cell by neural progenitor-derived glutamatergic neurons

Judith S. Kempfle, M.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear lnfirmary
Influence of bone morphogenetic protein 4 and retinoic acid on differentiation of inner ear stem cells

Neeliyath A. Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., Wayne State University School of Medicine
Molecular interactions of the hair-cell afferent synapse

DRF CENTURION CLINICAL RESEARCH AWARD RECIPIENT

James E. Saunders, M.D., Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Genetic hearing loss in remote Nicaraguan families

This research award is funded by the Centurions of the Deafness Research Foundation. DRF has partnered with CORE Grants Program of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) to offer a one-year DRF Centurion Clinical Research Award (CCRA) for clinical research in hearing and balance science.

DRF C.H.E.A.R. ENDOWMENT GRANT RECIPIENT

Patricia White, Ph.D., University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
1st year grant recipient
The role of foxo3 in hearing protection

The C.H.E.A.R. endowment was created to support an annual sensory-neural Deafness Research Grant. C.H.E.A.R. (Children Hearing Education and Research) was absorbed into DRF in 1991, and we are very proud to continue their legacy of funding research in sensory-neural deafness.

COLLETTE RAMSEY BAKER RESEARCH AWARD RECIPIENT

Kirill Vadimovich Nourski, Ph.D., M.D., University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
1st year grant recipient
Temporal processing in human auditory cortex
This research award is made in memory of Deafness Research Foundation’s founder, Collette Ramsey Baker.

THE TODD M. BADER RESEARCH GRANT OF THE BARBARA EPSTEIN FOUNDATION, INC., RECIPIENT

Marcello Peppi, Ph.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear lnfirmary
2nd year grant recipient
Molecular mechanisms of dexamethasone-mediated protection from acoustic trauma
This research award is funded by The Todd M. Bader Research Grant of The Barbara Epstein Foundation, Inc.

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Deafness Research Foundation is the leading national source of private funding for research in hearing and balance science.  Research made possible by DRF grants has resulted in dramatic innovations that have increased options for those living with hearing and balance disorders, as well as protected those at risk.  Since our inception in 1958, we have awarded over $26.6 million through more than 2,000 scientific research grants to researchers who are dedicated to exploring new avenues of hearing and balance science.  With the potential of hearing restoration through regeneration biology, the scope of DRF-funded research has expanded enormously.  Since 1972, DRF has funded close to 40 research grants that have been instrumental in the development, evaluation and improvement of cochlear implants.  Approximately, 188,000 implant procedures have been completed worldwide with beneficial results, particularly when the procedure is undertaken in infants.  DRF also publishes the award-winning Hearing HealthMagazine.

www.drf.org
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