Denver - Swallow Hill is proud to be awarded a matching grant of $13,000 from the Colorado Council on the Arts (CCA), a state agency whose mission is to promote the cultural, educational, and economic growth of Colorado through development of its arts and cultural heritage. This grant was awarded through the CCA's Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth Program and it will support Swallow Hill's Traveling Folk Troupe, which will visit 20 schools to provide classroom activities and a full assembly using music to teach music, culture, geography, history, and science.

State grants from CCA are awarded through a competitive process. This grant signifies that Swallow Hill Music Association provides a high level of quality in its programs, community service and administrative ability. Swallow Hill's Traveling Troupe supplements school music programs by providing an educational and engaging show that builds appreciation for live music, fosters interaction, and cultivates team work. Many of the children who participate in the Troupe's program undergo a cultural experience that brings about an appreciation for the event, as well as the music and subject matter conveyed. The children write songs together in the classroom with their peers and teachers, which are then presented by the Troupe. Through this process, the students gain a great deal of self-satisfaction and empowerment. They are able to see that they are able to accomplish great things together, and this helps them build a strong foundation of self-esteem.

Between July 2006 and June 2007, Swallow Hill's Traveling Troupe program directly benefited 3,600 school-age children in the Weld and Larimer Counties of Colorado, reaching outside the Troupe's normal Metro Denver area to enrich the greater Colorado community. Since some of these communities are smaller and less culturally diverse, the result achieved was a greater understanding of cultures with whom these students do not have direct, daily contact. The teachers of these students also benefited through the ability to take the Troupe's techniques and incorporating them into their teaching styles, further strengthening the long-term impact of the experience in terms of using these new tools to teach future students.

About Swallow Hill Music Association:
Helping people make and enjoy music since 1979, Swallow Hill Music Association is the largest institution of its kind west of the Mississippi as a source for folk, roots and acoustic music. With more than 2,100 members, Swallow Hill provides a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. Three concert venues house more than 200 performances a year, featuring some of the world's great artists as well as up-and-coming new talent. The Julie Davis Music School at Swallow Hill provides a valuable and affordable extra-curricular educational resource to the community with more than 60 music instructors involved in more than 240 adult classes and 70 children's classes annually.

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