Los Angeles USD Education Foundation Announces Launch of “The Last Repair Shop Fund”

The Los Angeles Unified School District Education Foundation announced today that it will launch “The Last Repair Shop Fund,” a $15 million capital campaign to invest in the future of its previously unsung Musical Instrument Repair Shop, including a student apprenticeship program that will build the next generation of instrument technicians.

What’s Happening:

The downtown workshop, founded in 1959, is the subject of Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers’ Oscar-nominated short documentary The Last Repair Shop, distributed by Searchlight Pictures and L.A. Times Studios, which profiles four of the twelve technicians who work every day to maintain over 130,000 musical instruments provided by the district to public school students.
Los Angeles is the last major city in America to provide free and freely repaired instruments to its students.
The announcement was made during a public event on February 20th at Hollywood High School featuring a screening of The Last Repair Shop and a special musical performance by an all city marching band.
Co-director Kris Bowers along with Searchlight Pictures made the first gift of the campaign by giving restored 1913 Steinway & Sons K-52 upright piano to Third Street Elementary School, where Kris Bowers attended as a young man.
The campaign will support investments in the Repair Shop’s infrastructure and support staff, ensuring that skill craftsmen are equipped to support the District’s music program for years to come.
It will also support the development of music and arts pipelines across schools – so that students can access a continuity of music and arts programs in the neighborhood schools.
Check out Luke’s review of The Last Repair Shop, which is available to view for free on L.A. Times’ YouTube channel, along with Disney+ and Hulu.
Public donations to The Last Repair Shop Fund can be made at thelastrepairshop.com.

What They’re Saying:

Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho: “Los Angeles Unified’s investment in music has produced some of the greatest luminaries in music for decades. This shop is one of the cornerstones of what makes Los Angeles the creative capital of the world. Ben and Kris’ film has created extraordinary excitement and support, and the time has come to call on forward-thinking leaders in this city to ensure that no child in Los Angeles who wants to play an instrument will ever be denied that opportunity.”
Gerun Riley, president of The Broad Foundation, an early supporter of the capital campaign: “The Last Repair Shop introduces us to the work and care of craftspeople equipping students with the instruments that allow them to explore their musical curiosities and talents. We applaud LAUSD’s commitment to sustaining the repair shop, and we hope others will be inspired to help ensure LA’s students have access to high-quality instruments, music facilities, and apprenticeships for generations to come.”

“The Last Repair Shop” co-director Kris Bowers: “Ben and I can’t think of a better impact for our film to make. I came up learning piano on an LAUSD upright. I know firsthand what having access to a working instrument can mean for a young kid who yearns to express themselves through music. And we are so excited that the LAUSD Education Foundation and The Broad Foundation have been inspired by our film to launch this worthy campaign that will change the lives of young Angelenos for generations to come."

Steve Bagmanyan, the shop’s supervisor and one of the technicians featured in the film, was, coincidentally, the person who tuned the pianos at Bower’s elementary and Middle schools. He said of the campaign’s launch, “We get to the shop and start working before the sun rises. We do our work quietly and proudly. And so the light that The Last Repair Shop has brought into our shop and lives has been both unexpected and deeply moving. The creation of this capital campaign is a godsend because it will enshrine this shop forever, and ensure that students who love music in Los Angeles will always have an instrument in their hand. And that’s what it’s all about.”