Music for All has announced that Eric L. Martin will be the first inductee into the newly-named Music for All Hall of Fame.
Providing more than 25 years of continuous service, Eric L. Martin was the Chief Executive Officer of Music for All (MFA). Mr. Martin served first on Music for All’s Board of Directors, followed by positions as MFA’s Associate Executive Director, then Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, until being appointed as CEO in 2010, a role in which he served until April 2020. He currently serves as Interim President of ScholarshipAuditions.com.
During his tenure as Music for All’s CEO, Mr. Martin championed initiatives that strengthened the organization’s fiscal position, expanded its organizational capacity, and consistently increased the number of students, teachers, and others directly served by Music for All.
Mr. Martin is a member of several Indianapolis and Indiana boards of directors. He is an honors graduate of Dartmouth College. He also holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School and has been admitted by exam to the District of Columbia and State of Georgia bar associations.
A Certified Festivals and Events Executive, he is Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Festivals and Events Association and an inductee into the Miller Brewing Hall of Fame, the highest honor awarded by IFEA. In August, Mr. Martin received the 2020 Outstanding PAS Supporter Award from the Percussive Arts Society.
Prior to joining Music for All, Mr. Martin earned national event production credits for some of America’s largest events, including the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, the World University Games, San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade, Philadelphia’s Bicentennial Parade, and the “Operation Welcome Home” Ticker Tape Parade in New York, celebrating America’s victory in the first Persian Gulf War. In 1993, Mr. Martin won a Regional Emmy® for his production of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Parade on SuperStation TBS.
A native of Greenville, MS, Mr. Martin participated instrumental music programs throughout high school and college. In 1971, he was one of the first African Americans inducted into the Greenville High School Hall of Fame.
Music for All’s Bands of America Hall of Fame debuted in 2003, recognizing individuals who have had a positively life-changing impact through Music for All and Bands of America programs, as well as in music education. With Mr. Martin’s induction on Saturday evening, November 14, the Hall of Fame will be renamed the Music for All Hall of Fame, signaling a widening to recognize leaders in all areas of scholastic music.
Mr. Martin will be recognized as an inductee during an online broadcast, All Together Now!, a live pledge event benefitting Music for All’s educational programs. The show will include the virtual induction ceremony, alongside special performances, celebrity messages of support, and awards ceremonies that typically occur during Music for All live events.
The live pledge event takes place on Saturday evening, November 14, from 6:00-9:00 PM EST, on what would have been the evening of the Bands of America Grand National Championship Finals in Lucas Oil Stadium. The broadcast will take place online at musicforall.org/alltogethernow. The Grand National Championships and all Bands of America and Music for All events were cancelled in 2020 due to pandemic health and safety concerns.
