In The Band’s (ITB) mission is to bring mobile music education to underserved youth by giving access to the tools of popular music along with the mentorship of professional musicians as instructors. Realizing that children growing up in impoverished communities were more likely to be impacted by the cuts to the arts in schools, ITB (formerly Sound Art) was created in 2002 to bring music instruction to the neighborhoods where it was most needed. The overarching objectives of our program are to provide quality music instruction that is culturally relevant to the youth we serve; engage students more fully in school; help at-risk youth stay in school and graduate; build self-confidence; assist youth in developing trusting relationships with mentoring adults; improve cognitive, analytical and creative skills; foster an understanding of personal identity, culture and connection with the community; and, provide training for potential future careers in LA’s multi-billion dollar industries.