Leslie David Hutchinson passed away Saturday, July 22, 2023. Les, age 70, was a loved son, brother, uncle as well as a dear friend to many. As one said recently, "He made everyone feel like you were his best friend." Born Oct. 19, 1952 in Bethesda, Md., he spent his early years on the East coast where as a teenager got "hooked into pop music." Listening to 45s, playing drums, attending festivals, and as a voracious reader, he became a student of rock. Finding his way to Vancouver, B.C., Les went on to play with many friends and numerous bands there, in Seattle and finally Portland, a place he loved. Up until he passed, Les was actively involved playing around town as well as volunteering, supporting, and teaching within his community.
Please join us in celebrating the musical legacy of Les Hutchinson through supporting free music education for Portland kids!
Introducing ‘Arms Around the Town, the Les Hutchinson Gift’, an ongoing fund in collaboration with Make Wakes supporting the vision of equity in music education in honor of Leslie D. 'Les' Hutchinson.
Make Waves is a groundbreaking music education model which aims to breathe new life into existing music programs designed to reach communities with gaps in educational services through funding, community outreach, and staffing for diversity.
We believe that everyone should have access to music lessons with a skilled, engaging teacher and musical role model. Many children lack the chance to receive music lessons due to financial barriers. You can find our Make Waves Managing Director doing outreach and demonstrating instruments at community events throughout the year, and meeting with school counselors and community centers to help connect these students with participating music schools in their area with as few barriers to access as possible.
The Make Waves Scholarship funds full scholarships for ongoing private music lessons for students ages 5-17 in the Portland Metro Area, and supplies students with their own instruments to keep.
In new and exciting news, we are proud to be partnering with a local high school to provide support to outstanding music students, as well as expanding into providing adaptable lesson options for disabled students with unique needs!
Program Costs:
Private lessons per student at Ethos:
1 month of lessons = $50
6 months of lessons = $300
1 year of lessons = $600
Total for 40 students receiving 1 year of lessons = $24,000
Additional Costs:
Private lessons and music-related grants outside of Ethos = $10,000
Instruments, operating costs: $16,000
Total Annual Costs: $50,000
Make Waves has awarded more than 50 scholarships since its launch in 2021! With your support, we can do so much more! Thank you for supporting equity in music education!
