About

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The Never Lose Your Drive Foundation (NLYD) is a registered 501 C3 Non-Profit in the State of Massachusetts. The charity directly funds the Headstart Music Instrumental and Tech Programs, as well as the Berklee College of Music 5 Week Scholarship Fund.

OUR MISSION

NLYD aims to provide opportunities for the youth in Barbados to experience music in an engaging and fun way, at no charge to the students. The Headstart Programs main focus is to prepare Elementary (Primary School) and Secondary (Middle School) aged students with the necessary tools needed to easily transition to the next level of instruction upon completion of the program. All Instrumental students will be able to play their instrument at a proficient level by the end of their time at Headstart, positioning them for high placement in Middle (Secondary) School Band. All Tech students will become familiar with basic Music Programming and Digital Recording, inspiring them to further their musical journey in Music Production and Engineering.

MEET OUR FOUNDER

Program Founder Elan Trotman embarked on his musical quest in January of 1998, upon leaving Queen’s College Secondary School with a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music – compliments of The Barbados Ministry of Education’s National Development Program. Elan currently serves on the faculty at his Alma Mater as an Associate Professor in the Ensemble Department. Prior to his current position, Elan also helped to inspire young musical minds in the Boston Public Schools at the Elementary level for over a decade. It was there that Elan came up with the concept for the Headstart Program.

In August of 2016, over 30 woodwind and brass instruments were donated through Cannonball Musical Instruments (Elan’s saxophone manufacturer), as well as percussion equipment and accessories donated by Needham Music in Needham MA.

The mission of the program is “Investing in our future through the arts”, with a strong focus on weekly instrumental instruction during the school year. Fundraising is conducted during the annual Barbados Jazz Excursion & Golf Weekend (BJE) through silent auctions, raffle tickets, and a Celebrity Golf Tournament, allowing the program to compensate tutors and ease parents of the burden of paying any fees for their children’s’ musical instruction.

“I was blessed to receive a full scholarship from the Barbados Ministry of Education which allowed me the opportunity to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the Berklee College of Music. After spending over 10 years on the faculty of the Boston Public Schools, I discovered a love for sharing music with young minds. Our mission is to give students a cost-free introduction to instruments, and to introduce them to the art of expression through music, in hopes that they can one day contribute to the music industry locally and globally.” – Elan Trotman