Billy Joel Keeping the Faith in Philly

Billy Joel's stint with classical music may be over -- at least I haven't heard of anything new since his classical disc of 200, but he is still contributing to the field. His Philadelphia Orchestra Billy Joel Fund for Music Education begins this season. Schoolchildren from 90 Philadelphia city elementary schools will help "to expand and improve music education in schools in the School District of Philadelphia by implementing a program that will improve access to the Orchestra’s School Concerts for underserved City schoolchildren."

Say what you will about his music and attitude (I still love him), but this is cool. Joel himself got a taste of classical music at public schools. Apparently he got the idea for the fund when he performed with the Orchestra at the Academy of Music. The fund was established in January of this year.