Robert B. Morrison

Robert B. Morrison was the founder and Chairman of the Music for All Foundation. The Foundation was created by Mr. Morrison and his family to focus on expanding the role of music and the arts in education, to heightening the public’s appreciation of the value of music and arts education, and to creating a positive environment for the arts through societal change. In 2006, Mr. Morrison worked with the leadership and board of Bands of America to merge the two organizations to create Music for All, Inc.

Robert B. Morrison has a long history as a supporter of music and arts education and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading researchers and advocates for arts education. He is the founder and CEO of Quadrant Research, the nation’s preeminent arts education and market research organization. Mr. Morrison’s leadership in research, public policy and advocacy efforts has led to significant advancements in access to music and arts education programs in America.

Mr. Morrison has a deep body of research and policy work and is recognized as a pioneer in statewide arts education status and condition research. In California, Mr. Morrison’s report The Sound of Silence: The Unprecedented Decline of Music Education in California Public Schools (2004) was one of the catalysts for a $500 million reinvestment into music and arts education in public schools that has been signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; in New Jersey, Mr. Morrison was the managing partner for the groundbreaking New Jersey Arts Education Census Project, completing the first statewide census for arts education in every school building. This work has been hailed as a model for statewide arts education research. Mr. Morrison has completed similar research projects for the states of Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington DC and Wisconsin. In May of 2012 the first follow-up longitudinal study was completed in New Jersey.

In arts education policy, Mr. Morrison worked with the Governor of Arkansas to mandate music and arts programs for every child attending public school in state – a policy later replicated by the state of Louisiana; in New Jersey, Mr. Morrison worked with the Commissioner of Education to include the arts in the states mandatory accountability system known as NJQSAC leading the state to include arts education as part of annual school reporting in 2014.
Prior to founding Quadrant Research and Music for All Mr. Morrison helped develop and then served as the CEO of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation where he created a major national brand responsible for donating more than $25 million of musical instruments to restore more than 1,200 music programs. Previously, Mr. Morrison was a senior executive for the NAMM – International Music Products Association, where he also served as Executive Director of the American Music Conference. In this capacity he worked with the late Michael Kamen and Richard Dreyfus to create the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

He was a founding member of the National Coalition for Music Education and is recognized for his work to add the arts to our nation’s education goals. He continues to work closely with leading national arts organizations to promote the development and implementation of the National Standards for Arts Education. He currently serves as the Data Task Force co-chair for State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, as a member of the boards of the National Creativity Network, ArtPride New Jersey, and is the Governance Chair of the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership. He has served as Chairman of the Board of the publicly traded music software company MakeMusic, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Trustees for both the Berklee College of Music and Little Kids Rock.

Mr. Morrison’s advocacy work has earned him both an EMMY and a Peabody Award. He received an honorary doctorate degree from the State University of New York for his work nationally to advance music and arts education for all children. Mr. Morrison was honored with the Motherland Award – the highest honor from the American Red Cross (ARC) – for developing the national public service campaign for the ARC following the attacks of September 11, 2001.