Recognized by colleagues and friends as an established, active musician and dedicated director of music programs, David Rojas has developed an exceptional leadership profile founded on being a devoted and experienced music educator, having significant non-profit business development success, and constantly designing & implementing innovative and meaningful curriculum that promotes positive youth development. Mr. Rojas became Director of Music Programs of The Turner Foundation Music & Imagination Program in late 2019 after serving for 6 years as Program Director for Notes for Notes, a national 501(c) (3) non-profit that provides an after school music program for young people.
Since becoming The Turner Foundation's Director of Music Programs, Mr. Rojas has forged a number of transformative initiatives including an amazing partnership with SONOS, which included the installation of state-of-the-art SONOS speakers for our music studios and the entire learning center facility, project managed two successful music studio renovations which now allows for more up-to-date and effective youth programming, and spearheaded a city-wide instrument gear drive while assisting in securing funds from the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation that furnished our music studios with close to $10,000 worth of music instruments and music studio gear.
New initiatives under Mr. Rojas' leadership include a music exploration program that consists of entry level music workshops and activities, a one-on-one music instruction program that nurtures young peoples' desire to become musicians through learning music theory and musicianship, a youth blues and jazz band program that provides the opportunity for participants to exercise their abilities with their peers, and a cross-curricular program that allows students to learn about the world around them through the lens of music.
David Rojas' education comes from Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) where he studied jazz piano, commercial music, and music production. During his time at SBCC, Mr. Rojas was recognized by John Clark, the music department chairman, for his skillful compositions and song writing abilities. Mr. Rojas currently serves on the board of The Santa Barbara Blues Society and assists with hosting community blues music events where he enjoys teaching the history of blues and its influence on America's popular music.