On Jan. 14, Music for All announced the resignation of Executive Vice President Bob Morrison, who founded the Music for All Foundation in 2003 and has served on the Board of Directors since the organization’s merger with Bands of America in 2006.
Morrison was a key player in Music for All’s research ventures as well as its public affairs and advocacy efforts. “Really for me, my passion has always been about trying to create the right environment for music programs and art programs and dance programs and theater programs to be able to grow and thrive,” he says. “I found that I needed to really follow my passion down to focusing very, very narrowly on that specific work. By deciding to leave and create a new way to really keep fighting the good fight as I’ve been doing over my entire career, it just seemed like now was a good time to do it.”
Scott McCormick, CEO of Music for All, commented that the departure of Morrison will “effectively put [Music for All] out of the research business,” but won’t adversely affect the organization too heavily otherwise.
McCormick also praised Morrison’s efforts while at the organization. “[His departure] kind of came out of the blue for us,” McCormick says. “I think what he did has really codified our organization, so that people could see it for what it’s been for many years. When he brought in the advocacy piece and research specifically, he gave us a chance to show ourselves for the cause organization we’ve really been. I wish him the greatest success in the future.”
Despite leaving Music for All, Morrison plans to remain involved in arts advocacy. “I’ll be announcing the formation of a new company in the next 30 days that is going to be focused explicitly on really solving the big issues related to student access to and participation in arts education programs,” he says. “We’re going to be very, very focused on advancing all four arts disciplines [and] expanding the research efforts that I’ve pioneered over my career.”
Look for more information about Morrison’s new venture in a future issue of Halftime Magazine.
