A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
Keep
Music
Playing.
Right now, across America, a child is putting down a broken instrument and walking away from music — not because they lost interest, but because nobody fixed it. We're building the technicians who will.
ESTABLISHED 2022
● INC. 500 FEMALE FOUNDER ● U.S. CHAMBER TOP 100
EST CHICAGO
WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING
Children are putting down their instruments
and never picking them up again.
Not because they lost interest. Because nobody fixed the instrument. And the system that was supposed to solve this, hasn't.
50M
AMERICANS
have played in school band or orchestra. Every one has a story about what music gave them.
20%
FEWER PROGRAMS
School music programs operating vs. pre-COVID. Broken instruments with no tech to fix them is a leading cause.
40 / 41
MUSIC BUSINESSES
at NAMM cannot find a repair technician. The shortage is structural, national, and getting worse every year.
The system — states, manufacturers, schools — is not solving this. Communities are the ones who will.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
A community-built workforce for the people who keep music alive.
Working Musicians Academy trains repair technicians, music-sales professionals, and the working musicians who serve them — virtual, accessible, and built around real careers. Curriculum developed with Bruce Marking, former Head of Woodwind Repair at Buffet-Crampon.
Fix It. Repair training.
Levels 1–4 in wind instrument repair, taught virtually. Less than half the cost of the only in-person alternative. Built for working musicians who want a second income, retired teachers, and the people who already love instruments.
EXPLORE REPAIR →
Sell It. Sales training.
Music sales accelerator for the musicians and entrepreneurs who sell what they love. Communication, consultative selling, and the business skills that turn a passion into a career.
EXPLORE SALES →
Place It. Career support.
Job placement, coaching, and self-employment guidance. Graduates are hired by music stores nationwide — and 15% are starting their own businesses, from the U.S. to New Zealand.
SEE PLACEMENT →
THIS ALREADY WORKS
Not a plan. A program – already proven.
“
Music often serves as the sole bridge connecting individuals across seemingly insurmountable divides. It gives children independence, identity, and community — things nothing else in their lives can give them.
LISA CANNING • FOUNDER, WORKING MUSICIANS ACADEMY
CLARINET • NORTHWESTERN · INTERLOCHEN • BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC
259
Paying Students
88%
Student Success Rate
50
States Reached
16-70
Age Range
• Inc. 500 Female Founder - 2025 • U.S. Chamber Top 100 Small Business · 2024 • Education 2.0 Innovation Award · 2026 • Inc. Midwest Fastest Growing · 2025 & 2026