The LAUSD Education Foundation is embarking on a major capital campaign to benefit the musical instrument repair operation documented in the Oscar-nominated film The last repair shop.
The $15 million campaign, which was unveiled at an event at Hollywood High School Tuesday night, will invest in skilled craftsmen and support staff at the repair shop, funding a “student apprenticeship program that will build the next generation of machinery technicians.”
The filmmakers and Chris Powers made the surprise announcement after a screening of their film at the school’s auditorium, which is located a short distance from where the Oscars will be held on March 10, at the Dolby Theater at the Ovation on Hollywood & Highland.
Exterior of the Hollywood High School auditorium with signs showing the staff of “The Last Repair Shop”
Matthew Curry
The short documentary, distributed by Searchlight Pictures and LA Times Studios, tells the poignant life stories of four key professionals who maintain the 80,000 musical instruments provided free to all students in the Los Angeles Unified School District: Dana Atkinson, who repairs stringed instruments, Duane Michaels (woodwinds), Patti Moreno (brass), and Steve Pagmanian, who rose from pianist to become shop supervisor. It also showcases the talents of young musicians who benefit from LAUSD’s musical instrument program — kids who play the violin, piano, sousaphone, sax, and every other instrument imaginable. Almost the entire cast was on hand for Tuesday night’s event.
Young musicians featured in “The Last Repair Shop” (LR) Porshi Brinker, Ismarai Calcagno, and Amanda Nova pose with co-directors Chris Powers and Ben Proudfoot.
Photography by Todd Williamson
Powers, a virtuoso pianist and leading Hollywood composer (Ava DuVernay Origin, Green book, Bob Marley: One Love, Violet) He attended LAUSD schools and developed his talent for playing the piano maintained by Bagmanyan. “Bowers and Searchlight Pictures made the campaign’s first gift by giving a restored 1913 Steinway & Sons K-52 piano to Third Street Elementary School, where Chris Bowers attended as a youth,” a statement noted.
On Tuesday night, Powers played that piano, joining a band from across the city that performed several pieces, including a screening of the film’s closing credits, which features a piece he composed called “The Graduates.”
“Ben and I can’t think of a better impact for our film,” Powers said of the capital campaign. “I came to learn to play piano on an upright LAUSD instrument. I know first-hand what access to a working instrument can mean to a young child eager to express themselves through music. We are so excited that the LAUSD Educational Foundation and the Broad Foundation have inspired our film to launch This is a worthwhile campaign that will change the lives of young Angelenos for generations to come.
Proudfoot and Bowers received 2021 Academy Award nominations for their short documentary A concerto is a conversation, which centers around Powers’ grandfather, Horace Powers Sr. Proudfoot won an Academy Award in 2022 for his short film Basketball queenabout hoops star Lucy Harris.
The last repair shopwhich won the Critics’ Choice Documentary Award for Best Short Film among other awards, can be watched for free on the LA Times YouTube channel, as well as the streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu.
Eli and Edith Broad Foundation He joined the roster as an early backer of the capital campaign. General donations to The Last Repair Shop Fund can be made at thelastrepairshop.com.
In the video below, Powers, playing piano, joins a band from across the city to perform his piece “The Alumni,” conducted by Vince Womack.