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Bequest supports music education

David Brooks loved music. He left a legacy to make sure New Hampshire kids get the chance to love music, too

By Lois R. Shea, Senior Writer and Communications Officer  |  

Music education in New Hampshire’s public schools is getting a boost from the David M. Brooks Music Fund.

Brooks, of Bedford, was a U.S. Army veteran who had worked in the printing industry — and who loved music. He left a bequest in his will to create the fund, which will distribute up to $175,000 annually in perpetuity for the teaching of light classical music and voice in New Hampshire grammar schools, high schools, colleges and universities.

The New Hampshire Music Educators Association is working with the Foundation to advise grantmaking, and grants will be focused on districts with the greatest need.


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Meena Gyawali

Meet Meena Gyawali

Meena Gyawali joined the Foundation in December as a Senior Program Officer. She has served as director of grants and compliance at Families in Transition and has a background in planning and community development. She talked to the Foundation’s Lois Shea about urban planning, how high school drafting classes led to her hobby of painting landscapes from Manchester’s Millyard, the search for the best empanada in town and why everyone should visit New Hampshire’s Queen City.  Meena lives in Manchester with her family.