a lot of reinvesting in the community.” One example of how West Music re- invests is through the Symphony Sparks Magic program, where it partners with the University of Iowa School of Music and the Iowa City Community School District to give every fourth grader in the district the chance to experience their first sym- phony performance. “We sponsor bringing everything in, but then we also talk with the younger students beforehand to explain that the older students they’re seeing on the stage are a part of their music program. We explain they’re on their own journey, just like the college kids, and this might be the very first step in their musical journey,” West said. “Also, we then try to get the kids interested in the University of Iowa School of Music. Obviously, this is a university institution where most fourth graders or fifth grad- ers aren’t thinking about a college music program just yet, but it gets them exposed and plants that seed.” West said other ways West Music part- ners with its community is through per- forming arts organizations. “I have a deep appreciation and love and
A West Music representative helps a customer on their music-making journey.
team harkens back to the aforementioned company mission. “We have our ABCs, where ‘A’ is advocat- ing for education, ‘B’ is build meaningful relationships and ‘C’ is cultivate commu- nity — and we talk about that on the very first day employees start at West Music,” he said. “I think the ABCs are really the way
that we kind of live our mission forward. So, when we say cultivate community, we frame it to say there’s our local communi- ties, the five locations that we have here in eastern Iowa, and then there’s also the musical communities, or the kind of tribes that have been discussed at NAMM. So, in terms of community participation, we do
40 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2025
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