Music matters to me on a very large scale! Music is 99.9% of my life! It’s not just what I do, it’s truly who I am.

I have been a worship leader all over California for the past 8 years. I’ve lead worship in front of small groups of 20 – 50 people at Burson Church and in the Sacramento area, and in front of 30,000+ people from all over the world that gathered at the LA Convention Center!!! Because of my knowledge of music, I have had incredible opportunities open up to me. It was through the Calaveras music program that I learned how to sight read, stay strong on my part as an alto, learn scales and SO much more! I grew up singing the National Anthem at the Toyon & Calaveras football games since I was about 12 or 13 years old (maybe even younger)! Seeing that music is such a huge part of my life, I can’t imagine what I would’ve done if the music programs were not accessible to me while in middle school and especially while in high school. The music programs gave me the knowledge I needed to advance as an adult in the music industry. I am asked to travel often to lead worship and assist teams all over Northern California, and I truly give a lot of the credit to the Calaveras music program. I am living proof that the music program is not a small or insignificant program to just cut out for budget’s sake. I believe it is vital to keep this program open for our youth so please…help by supporting and joining us as we fight to save our music program! United we can!!!

Joanne Holmquist – Graduating Class of 2007