VH1 Save the Music Marks 10 Years
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation 10th Anniversary Gala Presented By LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) celebrated ten years of successfully restoring music education programs in public schools across the country on September 20, 2007. The event, hosted by Maria Menounos, featured performances by John Mayer, Jon Bon Jovi, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Miri Ben-Ari and a 61-piece student orchestra made up of VH1 Save The Music students from across the United States. During the celebration, The Foundation paid tribute to Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mariah Carey, John Sykes, founder of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation and NAMM (The International Music Products Association) for their unyielding support and dedication to The Foundation’s mission.
Conan O’Brien kicked-off the event by humoring guests with an opening speech on the importance of music education during which the late-night star showcased his own musical talents, or lack thereof. Later in the program, Tim Gunn of Project Runway emceed a live auction, which featured one-of-a-kind items and experiences from VH1 Save The Music partners and raised over $200,000. Items in the gala auction included Gibson guitars signed by John Mayer, Tom Petty, Metallica, Neil Young, Paul McCartney and Keith Richards.
The gala also featured a surprise duet of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Jon Bon Jovi and John Mayer, as well as a stellar finale featuring Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation’s 61-piece student orchestra and the PG and Love choir. Speeches given by the night’s honorees truly drove home the importance of music education and what it has done for people like former President Bill Clinton.
Celebrity guests and supporters that attended the gala included Russell Simmons, LA Reid, Vanessa Carlton, James Blunt, Mya, Denise Rich, Katie Lee Joel, Quincy Jones, Jane Rosenthal, Chairman and CEO of US Recorded Music for Warner Music Lyor Cohen, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Speaker Christine Quinn, The Late Show’s Paul Shaffer, and Mary Alice Stephenson, co-host of VH1’s America’s Most Smartest Model.
For more information on the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, please visit www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/.
