Barry Manilow returned to Louisville to spread the love for music – in more ways than one! Manilow took to the stage on Monday at the KFC Yum! Center to perform. But this concert was preceded by a memorable meeting with music teacher Doug Elmore, who is helping his school get a major music overhaul.
The Barry Manilow Music Project awarded Elmore $5,000 “Manilow bucks” along with an additional $5,000 in cash. Elmore was the winner among around 100 candidates for the project, which is aimed at supporting music education in a variety of ways. Manilow personally presented the prize for this meaningful endeavor, rooted in his own childhood struggles.
Barry Manilow presents Doug Elmore a life-changing prize to enable music studies
The “Manilow bucks” are the designated currency for buying instruments and other related equipment for the music program at Elmore’s school, Floyd Central High School. These days, across his 40 years of teaching Elmore teaches around 450 students. He is very excited to use his winnings to support his students’ music studies and already has a game plan lined up.
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“We have a prioritized list of instruments that we have been trying to get that were going to be a struggle for us,” shared Elmore. “We’re going to try to use this to get us over the top. One of the things we are going to look at is we are trying to get a harp for our orchestra room because as it is now, she has to drag hers back and forth to school. It’s very hard on your instrument, you’re not supposed to do that.”
Manilow wants to help Elmore and every music teacher out there
Elmore has been a fan of Manilow since his own high school days and received VIP tickets to his concert downtown. To be presented with such a meaningful prize by the beloved artist was more than Elmore could have dreamed of.
“I thought how crazy is this,” he recalled. “I’m going to meet Barry Manilow and talk to him about music, I never saw it coming, but I’m so grateful for it.”
But the efforts of the Barry Manilow Music Project are meaningful for Manilow too.
“When legendary singer and songwriter Barry Manilow was a high school student in Brooklyn, his school was ranked the most dangerous in all of America,” reads the project’s story on its website. “Barry found a home in his high school orchestra class, which he credits for changing his life and molding him into the icon he is today.” That is why he wants to use the project to help change countless other lives. It has done just that, distributing some $10 million in funds and instruments.
