ABout US

 In fall of 2018, founder, Harrison Fribush, at the time a 7th grade student at Krieger Schechter Day School, came across the Cardinal Shehan Catholic School choir from an inspiring viral video. Director of the Cardinal Shehan choir, Ms. Kenyatta Hardison, posted a video to Facebook in 2017 of her students singing a rendition of Andra Day’s Rise Up, that of which garnered over 40 million views. Through song, the Cardinal Shehan Choir students were bringing the world hope and joy, and showcased the power of music at its greatest level. 

Founder, Harrison Fribush was blown away by the talent and passion of the students, and had to meet them. He reached out to his choir director, Mrs. Erika Schon, with the proposal of a project that would unify the Krieger Schechter Day School choir, and the Cardinal Shehan Catholic School choir through the common passion they shared, music. 

A letter was written to Ms. Hardison, inviting the Cardinal Shehan Choir to Krieger Schechter Day School for a day of song. Students would meet for the first time, share a meal, and rehearse This is Me from The Greatest Showman, to perform later in the day. Ms. Hardison loved the idea, and the planning phase began. 

The choir directors worked to develop a new arrangement of This is Me, the schools worked together to arrange many behind the scenes details, a camera and sound crew were put into place to capture the day, and a Facebook and GoFundMe page was set up to promote our passion for music, and raise funds for music education programs in Baltimore. Then, after months of preparation, on January 18, 2019, the Cardinal Shehan School choir came to Krieger Schechter Day School. The Music Matters Now Project had officially begun.

A documentary was created and put out in early February, and we began raising funds for Music Education programs in Baltimore. The film was viewed close to 90,000 times, and a sum of about $12,000 was raised. Music Matters Now went on to be showcased at the 2019 Archdiocese of Baltimore Gala, and later was featured on ABC’s The View for their MLK day episode. The funds raised were distributed to two programs, one being Believe in Music, and the other being the Cardinal Shehan School Music Program. Believe in Music, a nonprofit organization in Baltimore, Maryland, used the donation to buy equipment, hire staff, and create an overall better experience for their students. Cardinal Shehan used the funds to enhance their choir program, and expand on their music room. 

Music Matters Now created a partnership that still exists today between schools from very diverse communities, it allowed kids from completely diverse backgrounds to meet and create lifelong friendships, and it opened the eyes of so many, showing that we can all come together to do good for others. 

Music United, Inc. is the next phase of the Music Matters Now project, working to take whats already been done to the next level.