Billy Mitchell: Legendary Musician & Community Leader

To say Billy Mitchell is a legendary musician would be an understatement. However, it's what he does separate from the black & white ivory keys that displays his true spirit. In these turbulent times of racial injustice, economic injustice & political corruption; it's no secret that budgets are being massively cut. Schools are disappearing. Music & arts programs have vanished into thin air. What has been priority & necessity to most human souls is being abolished in front of our very eyes. The people are looking for a leader to move the younger generation in the right direction. Look no further, than Billy Mitchell.

Billy Mitchell began his journey to leadership from 1960-1964 in college when he marched with SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) for Black rights in Atlanta

  As the Founder and Director of SAPPA (Scholarship Audition Performance Preparatory Academy) for 13 years, Mr. Mitchell has brought free music competition and scholarship tutoring to the Los Angeles community.  With over 10 locations, at-risk inner city children are given access to music,  arts scholarships, & creative services to all ages. This is vital for the youth to have access to artistic resources. Not only is it a possible career path, but the arts play an extremely fundamental role in every person's life. To see more of the impact SAPPA is having on Los Angeles communities, view their full website here.

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"I don’t know if SAPPA would have developed to this point, had it not been for their professional input” Billy explained "Copymat is an example of how a business can help community organizations to develop." 

      on Bob Gerholdt: “I don’t even know how many years I’ve known Bob.. it’s been a long time; and he’s always been supportive of my music and the SAPPA program”

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Billy Mitchell is also an incredible & accomplished jazz musician himself. He was born in Tarrytown, NY, eventually attending high school in Buffalo & higher education at Morehouse College. In 1970, Mitchell found a home in Los Angeles to begin the next leg of his epic journey. To accompany his countless classic albums, he has performed live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Heineken World Music Festival, International Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, Sedona Jazz on the Rocks among many other venues. To see his full biography, click here. 

We are proud to have Billy Mitchell as a loyal customer of Copymat. We expect many great things from him in the near future!