News Release

John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Brings Music to Lucky Students at Maryland High School

Sponsored by Oneness and National Education Association (NEA)

Washington - Students' imaginations ran wild today as the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus rolled into town and gave a lucky group of local students the unique opportunity to create and produce original music -- some even had the chance to shoot their own music videos -- in this state-of-the-art mobile recording and multi-media studio.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is on a national tour committed to foster a comprehensive program directed towards students of all ages. The bus comes to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area through the sponsorship of the 2.7 million member National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest teachers' union, and Oneness, a national non-profit organization whose focus is racial unity through music, the arts, and education.

Local high school students in grades 9-12 throughout the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area were invited to submit an application, along with a song, poem, and/or essay addressing the struggle against racism and quest for racial unity.

Although students were selected from schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, Montgomery Blair High School was chosen as the site to host the event because of the school's award winning music technology, jazz combo, a choral cafe, and choral programs.

The following is a list of students who will be recording and producing their own music today:

Jeffrey Holiday, 17, is a junior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD. He is a singer and guitarist whose favored musical genre is rock and acoustic.

Edward Byrd, 16, is a sophomore at Montgomery Blair High School. He has written more than 20 rap songs but his real love is music production. He has shown a great talent as a music technician.

Julian Talley, 14, is a freshman at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. Originally from New Mexico, he made it through the rigorous entry process and is now sharpening his skills as a drummer and percussionist.

Dominic d'Eustachio, 18, is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School and plays both acoustic and electric guitar. He is also a singer and has written more than 20 songs of his own, and loves rock and folk music.

Jasmine Martin, 15, is a junior at Friends Central High School in Havre de Grace, MD. She loves singing and songwriting and backs up her performances with equally strong skills as a pianist. She is a poet and and songwriter and loves to sing rhythm and blues.

Tamea Stover, 16, is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, whose favorite music is pop and R&B. She has written more than a dozen songs in these genres.

Will Timpson, 18, is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School who plays both folk and blues guitar. He is also a singer and songwriter.

Virginia Blair, 14, will be entering Loudon Valley High School in Purcellville, VA. A singer and songwriter, she's also an accomplished pianist and guitarist.

More information about the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, National Education Association (NEA), and Oneness can be found at their Web sites.

May 5, 2005

For more information, contact:

Staci Maiers, NEA Public Relations
(202) 822-7150 (work)
(202) 270-5333 (cell)

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, college faculty, school administrators, education support professionals, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.