Little Kids Rock Music Education Students Perform for more than 300 Money Managers at Institutional Investor’s 13th Annual Mutual Fund Industry AwardsMonth

Non-Profit Music Program to Host Silent Auction at the Prestigious Event to Raise Funds and Expand Music Education Programming During National Music in Our Schools Month

Feb. 27th, 2006— New York, NY- Little Kids Rock (LKR), an innovative non-profit program that provides free instruments and free music classes to children, announced today that 10 LKR 4th and 5th grade students from CES 58X in the Bronx will be the featured performers at Institutional Investor’s The 13th Annual Mutual Fund Industry Awards, that will take place in NY during National Music in Our Schools Month on March 2nd at 7:45pm. The students will be performing two rock songs and be accompanied by celebrity, Billy Joel’s long-time drummer, Liberty DeVitto.

Additionally, Little Kids Rock will have the opportunity to raise funds for its program through a silent auction. Artisan Guitars, The 13th Fret Acoustic Guitar Discussion Forum, Fender, RKS Guitars, Gretsch Guitars, Sam Ash Music, Washburn Guitars, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Evans Drumheads, Planet Waves, D’Addario & Company, ReFlow and others have donated a variety of items for the silent auction. Visit http://www.iinews.com/site/MFA06/charity.asp for additional information.

A very special item that will be a part of the silent auction is a one-of-a kind guitar valued at more than $7000. A team of a dozen Luthiers worked together for more than a year to create this special instrument. The guitar was passed around the country and many participated in its construction. The idea came out of a posting on a forum for Luthiers called the 13th Fret. For more info about the guitar, go to this link: http://www.13thfret.com/om_project/.
“ Institutional Investor has given our students and our organization a tremendous opportunity,” said David Wish Executive Director and Founder of Little Kids Rock. “Our students are looking forward to providing a rockin’ performance at the awards.”

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock believes that music is a critical component of first-rate education.
Many elementary schools have been stripped of their music programs. These cuts
have had a disproportionately large impact on children from low-income back-
grounds. Little Kids Rock restores music to its rightful place in the academic lives
of kids in our public schools by providing a rich music education program including
instrument instruction, free instruments and trained mentors. Founded by a single
elementary school teacher in 1996, Little Kids Rock is now serving more than 7,000 students in CA, NY, NJ and TN. Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Steve Vai, B.B. King, Jason Newsted, Dave Mason, Rick Springfield, Al Leiter and Les Paul sit on our Honorary Board of Directors and we are supported by friends Carlos Santana, Phish, Bob Weir and others. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org

About The Mutual Fund Industry Awards
The highly-coveted Mutual Fund Industry Awards are bestowed by the editors of Fund Action and Fund Directions, the leading publications covering the U.S. mutual fund industry. The awards recognize the fund leaders, marketers and trustees who have made significant impacts on the fund industry over the previous year. On March 2, 2006, nominees will be honored and winners will be awarded at an annual gala dinner. This awards dinner brings together the many professionals in the mutual fund industry to recognize and celebrate the achievements of their peers. More info about the event see the website - http://www.iinews.com/site/MFA06/default.asp).

About Institutional Investor
Institutional Investor magazine has been the flagship publication of II for nearly 40 years and has continuously provided ground-breaking detailed coverage of the events, issues and people who impact the world of business and finance. With industry recognized research and ratings, award-winning editorial and exclusive interviews Institutional Investor magazine is the publication more C-level

Media Contact:
Allison Neves, PR Director
Little Kids Rock
415-948-1200
allison@littlekidsrock.org