Music on the Inside

Music on the Inside Icon

 

Music on the Inside (MOTI) brings music, primarily jazz and blues, to young adults who are incarcerated at Rikers Island prison in NYC. Experienced musicians expose these young people to music. Also, they provide music lessons and training in composition. This attention can be very healing. The mentorship enriches lives. It provides much needed support. Additionally, these relationships often continue after re-entry into public life.

Alina Bloomgarden, MOTI’s founder, was the original force behind the highly acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center. Louis Armstrong’s story inspired her to create MOTI. Armstrong was incarcerated as a boy. He learned to play the cornet while behind bars at the Colored Waifs Home for Boys, The rest, as they say, is history.

Bloomgarden hopes that the MOTI model can be expanded to other institutions throughout the United States.

Wynton Marsalis is MOTI’s Artistic Advisor.

“What a blessing it was to have the experienced, creative and caring work of Amy Pollack to design and launch our logo. We’re very proud of it and get many compliments. She was always available and responsive to our needs and also extremely generous with advice about our website and other ways to promote our mission. I continue to recommend her to people who want the caring attention of a real professional.”

Alina Bloomgarden, Founder, Music on the Inside, Inc.

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