GARY ALLEGRETTO and HARMONIKIDS
By Therese A. Barron
Gary Allegretto was five-years old when his grandfather handed him his harmonica. A stroke had left him unable to play it himself and he knew it was time to pass it down to someone who could truly enjoy it. As a young boy Gary was still sorting out how he would address the world. He was quiet and reserved and his grandfather's harmonica gave him a much needed voice. He privately practiced until he felt his music was good enough to see the light of day and then he started his journey into the music world.
Throughout the world there are many children living with challenges most adults would find nearly impossible to overcome. No matter what their circumstance, these children have one thing in common – music can find a way into their hearts and put a smile on their faces.
In 1985 Gary Allegretto was invited to join a friend who was director of the Children's Playroom to perform for children at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He was invited to play his harmonica for the kids in a jam session on donated instruments. He quickly realized the children could not share harmonicas due to their compromised immune systems and made the decision to contact The Hohner Harmonica Company and establish a reduced price so he could buy harmonicas for the children. Remarkably, this year Hohner Harmonicas began to endorse Allegretto’s amazing organization Harmonikids, supplying harmonicas free of charge for children with special needs.
When Allegretto goes to a new area of the world he makes it a point to learn songs familiar to the area and become comfortable with playing them on the harmonica. He has used influences from regional music of far off countries to rap music to engage inner city youth. He works hard to engage the kids and teach them to put effort towards their accomplishments. He also teaches an important life lesson –“Make a mistake? Correct it and keep moving forward - it is not such a big deal. It is how you recover that matters.”
Throughout the years Allegretto has seen music build immense self-esteem. It gives children of all ages something positive they CAN do. He has gone to work with many children's groups around the world and witnessed dramatic change in their personalities and emotions, simply by learning to play the harmonica. He has seen children with profound disabilities struggle to succeed with their instrument and then glow with pride when they see all they can accomplish. On occasion Allegretto has even received letters from kids or their parents, thanking him for the gift of music in their life.
Gary Allegretto has received a Keeping the Blues Alive award from the Blues Foundation, an Artist For A Better World award, and Grammy considerations for a contemporary blues album and his contemporary folk album. To learn more about Gary and Harmonikids or how to make a tax-deductable donation, go to www.garyallegretto.com/home.cfm and www.harmonikids.org
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