MECA, MetLife Youth Music Project, and the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts Present National Performance Week

Business Wire, March 25, 2004

Feature Editors/Education Writers

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2004

As a MetLife grantee, MECA has been selected to participate in an innovative and exciting cross-country collaboration where music will fill the sky from sea to sea. From San Francisco to Providence, Houston to Minneapolis, and many cities in between, a most diverse cast of young artists may never meet face to face but through their music, they will be linked to each other. The chords on the guitar of a young musician in Philadelphia may not harmonize with the bassoonist in Boston, although they could be playing the same newly learned musical numbers at the same moment in time.

This performance is part of the MetLife National Performance Week. March 28 -- April 4, 2004 in 10 different American cities, middle school music students are performing on stages across the country. This program is made possible through the MetLife Youth Music Project, a program of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. For information about this program and a list of other participating cities, please visit www.national.guild.org.

On Thursday, April 1, 2004 at 7:00 p.m., the musical talents of MECA mariachi students from Hogg and Johnston Middle Schools as well as MECA's intermediate mariachi group from its Dow school campus will be highlighted. This performance is free and open to the public.

Who:    MECA, MetLife Music Project, and the National Guild of
        Community Schools of the Arts

What:   National Performance Week

When:   Thursday, April 1, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.

Where:  MECA
        1900 Kane
        Houston, Texas 77007

Admission: Free and open to the public

For more information, please visit MECA's Web site at www.meca-houston.org.

Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA) is a community-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the healthy social, cultural, and academic development of at-risk, inner-city youth through education in the arts. Over 1,500 students attend MECA classes, and over 3,000 students participate in MECA workshops, residencies, and projects. MECA has served Houston's First Ward, Sixth Ward, Near Northside, and Heights Districts since 1977, providing a variety of arts education opportunities, community performances, public art, and cultural celebrations. MECA's 27-year presence has given families and youth a positive sense of themselves, their community, and their culture.