Let Music Fill My World

A Musical Life, a Prosperous Future

Schools around the country are facing budget cuts and when they do, the arts go first. To help meet the need, TFO partnered with renowned singer & songwriter John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting to develop a nationwide movement redefining the value of music education to youth and society.

We started in Chicago at Farragut Career Academy. Over two months, ten students who expressed an interest in music and the arts immersed themselves in weekly virtual workshops with Ondrasik.

These sessions immersed students in the creative and technical aspects of music-making, from, songwriting and production to performance, before culminating in the creation of an original composition, “Let Music Fill My World.” Written together by the students as they learned new skills, this composition served as more than a song. It became a testament to the impact of music education. Through this hands-on experience, students gained real-world skills, confidence, and a deeper connection to music as a form of self-expression and storytelling. This project exemplifies how access to music education fuels creativity, fosters collaboration, and unlocks opportunities for students to shape their own futures.

For public schools like Farragut Career Academy, where funding constraints often hinder access to extracurricular activities like music, TFO’s support is transformational. Through this program, we are providing a music teacher to Farragut Career Academy for three years thereby bridging the funding gap and offering students a channel for self-expression and emotional regulation.

Let Music Fill My World unites music and music education nonprofits into a powerful coalition to drive broader strategic investments and maximize collective impact. To fuel this effort, Let Music Fill My World partners with organizations across key sectors — including Advocacy & Research, Instruments & Technology, Teacher Resources, Community Engagement, and Funding Access — creating an interconnected ecosystem strengthening the entire field. Through this coalition, Let Music Fill My World aims to break down silos, foster innovation, and leverage shared resources to expand access and opportunity.  Let Music Fill My World believes the idea that lasting solutions to inequitable access to music education can only be achieved through collective action, and invites all music and music education nonprofits to join their mission