Josh Groban’s Find Your Light Foundation, which has previously collaborated with students from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, raised a record $1.5 million in support of arts education programs at its second-annual benefit concert Wednesday night.
The concert, hosted by Groban in Jazz at Lincoln Center, presented performances from Jordan Fisher, Norah Jones and Sesame Street characters. It also featured dozens of student performers from various organizations, such as The Stuttering Association for the Young and Wharton Arts, supported by FYLF. All proceeds from the event went directly to funding grants for nationwide groups like Broadway Bound Kids and supporting teachers by providing instruments and resourcing for the classroom.
“The arts absolutely saved me,” Groban said in an opening statement during the benefit. “The fact that I’m here tonight is a testament to those programs and teachers.”
Groban founded FYLF in 2005, crediting his confidence and career in the arts to his educators — specifically his seventh grade choir teacher at Winward School in Los Angeles, who recognized him as a “shy” kid and gave him his first solo.
The arts are typically the first cut following budget losses in K-12 programs. Over 50% of classrooms report less time and resources spent on art and 48% report less time and resources spent on music in 2012 compared to 2002, according to a study by Americans for the Arts.
Move NYC, a tuition-free social justice organization focused on diversifying dance, recently lost their $50,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant. Subsequently, many other funders pulled their contributions, resulting in a $125,000 loss in budget this year. Dancers from Move NYC performed at the concert in an effort to raise money for the organization.
“[Students] want someone to tell them that they aren’t going to lose access to the art that has changed their lives,” principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, Tiler Peck said to introduce the organization’s performance.
Toward the end of the performance, the foundation held an auction. Prizes included a VIP experience with orchestra seats to “Hamilton,” the opportunity to meet Leslie Odom Jr. backstage and signed merchandise, which sold for $15,000. Additionally, a two-night stay in a suite at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with front row seats to Groban’s upcoming residency at the Colosseum and the chance to meet him backstage sold twice at $30,000 each.
After the auction, Groban accepted numerous donations, ranging up to $50,000. Groban also matched over 40 donors’ $500 donations.
Executive producer Sal Perez accepted the Find Your Light Award on behalf of “Sesame Street,” and co-authors Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen accepted the Arts for Healing Award for their book, “Your Brain on Art: How Art Transforms Us.”
“I see the power of art everyday,” said Ross in her acceptance speech. “I see it in the spark of imagination in my grandchildren’s eyes.”
Ross and Magsamen’s book outlines the science behind art’s effect on a person’s mind and wellbeing. Their research finds that art enhances physical and mental wellbeing, lowers stress and supports human connection.
Each celebrity performer echoed this sentiment, saying a few words about how they felt closer to others and themselves through the arts.
“I stayed in drama club because of the gift that I got,” Fisher said during the concert. “I got the gift of theater, I got the gift of music. It literally changed my life.”
The Find Your Light Foundation is still accepting donations in support of arts education and encouraging people to write to Congress in support of new arts education legislation.
Contact Skylar Boilard at [email protected].