Kirk Horn Music Fund

04/06/2026

Kirk Horn Music Fund Announcement

Dear Friends of the Kirk Horn Music Fund:
Our family sincerely thanks you for your years of support of Kirk’s vision to provide children with “no-cost” music lessons. As July marks the tenth anniversary of his passing, Jenny and I have decided to step back from the continual fundraising, time and energy required to sustain the fund, therefore, we are retiring from managing the administration of the Kirk Horn Music Fund (KHMF) at the end of May.
Years ago, Kirk and the Short North Rotary Club began supporting an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya called Rafiki, which focuses on children who lost their parents to HIV. There, Kirk encouraged a young musician named Sam Muthoni (stage name StarBiz) to pursue his passion. We have supported Sam’s musical efforts for several years and last year, we helped him open the Kirk Horn Music Studio in Nairobi, offering no-cost music lessons to local children. Two years ago, we started the Kirk Horn Music School at the Rafiki Orphanage.
In recent months, the KHMF received a substantial donation to start a creative arts program in Licking County, modeling the KHMF. Jesse Henry, our Music Director, will continue working at the Linden Community Center as he expands youth arts opportunities to serve both Linden and Newark areas. Jesse was informed of our decision months ago. Since then, he has partnered with The Newark Organization for the Creative Arts, an existing 501(c)3 arts program, to seamlessly continue his work and is now the Director of NOCA. Jesse will oversee the Music, Creative Writing and Theater programs at both locations. He plans to bring the communities together for public performances and build relationships with the students at each location.
Moving forward, Jenny and I plan to focus our work on Kenya, while Jesse remains committed to Central Ohio. If you wish to contribute to the Kenya efforts, go to the KHMF website:
https://www.kirkhornmusicfund.com/donate
To support Jesse and the Central Ohio programs visit: www.nocapresents.org
This journey has meant so much to us, and we feel privileged to witness the positive impact of your generosity. We believe Kirk’s legacy will live on through music and happiness these kids share. We wish Jesse, the teachers and the kids much success. Thank you.

03/27/2026

Because of the generosity of our supporters, the kids at Rafiki Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya now have a band. We are so proud of their accomplishments.

09/20/2025

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the 7th annual Kirk’s Concert at Woodlands Tavern. And also to all those who were not able to attend but still sent in a donation. It all goes to provide “no cost” music lessons for these kids.

08/06/2025

Kirk's Concert 2025 is coming soon!
Saturday, September 20 at Woodlands Tavern.
Get your tickets now on our website:

07/10/2025

We are making a difference in kids lives in Kenya. Thanks for your support.

05/24/2025

The kids performance was amazing tonight at Rambling House. Thanks for your support.

05/20/2025

Thank you Short North Rotary for your many years of support for helping us deliver free music lessons to kids.

We got to present the check to Kirk Horn Music Fund our the rotary meeting this morning. As of today, we have donated over $80,000 to this amazing nonprofit bringing music to kids. Thank you for supporting Music in the Round!!!!

Just in: The kids are playing The Rambling House on Friday at 6pm - no cover!!!

11/03/2024

COUNTDOWN: We are only one week away from the 6th Annual Kirk’s Concert. This year it will be held at the Columbus Museum of Art, November 10, starting at 2pm. Not only will you hear the kids in our program perform but the Tom Krouse Band is our featured band this year. To get tickets for the concert as well as the Buffalo Trace Bourbon Raffle, just go to this link for more information:

                           Name or Logo recognition (medium size) at the concert & on other promotion materials

10/28/2024

Dear Friends of the Kirk Horn Music Fund: Less than 2 weeks to go until the 6th Annual Kirk’s Concert. This year we will be at the Columbus Museum of Art on Sunday, November 10 starting at 2pm. Last year we were sold out about this time, but this year we have plenty of seats left. The kids have been working hard on their music and we hope you can come hear both of our kids’ bands play. Our featured band this year is The Tom Krouse Band. As you may know, Tom has recently retired as CEO of Donatos and is now spending time making music instead of pizza.

Here is the link to all tickets as well as our Buffalo Trace Bourbon raffle (you do not need to be at the concert to win the raffle). We are also asking for donations of any size to help us continue Kirk’s dream of providing free music lessons to kids.

https://kirkhornmusicfund.square.site/

Thanks to all of our supporters. We are making a difference in kids’ lives because of you.

10/21/2024

Less than 3 weeks until the 6th Annual Kirk's Concert so get your tickets soon. The kids that you support will blow you away with their music and then we have the Tom Krouse Band playing to wrap up this year's concert. Bourbon tickets also on sale.

                           Name or Logo recognition (medium size) at the concert & on other promotion materials

10/19/2024

WOSU-TV and the Kirk Horn Music Fund
Dear Friends of the Kirk Horn Music Fund: We are excited to share a link with you of the recent airing of the WOSU-TV station’s show called Broad & High. Our segment starts at 7:52 so you can fast-forward to it if you like. We are so honored to have been selected to be part of this award-winning program. We hope you enjoy watching it.

10/17/2024

Reminder: Tonight on WOSU-TV at 8pm, the show, Broad & High will be doing a feature on the Kirk Horn Music Fund and our kids went to their studio and performed. It's going to be great, so tune in. If you don't have TV access, you can find it on the WOSU-TV YouTube channel.