Giving Back

In Community

Music is something you pass on. Here’s how I try to put it back into the community that gave it to me.

2025

Teen Musician Armaan Mishra’s Mission: Harnessing Music for the Good of the Community

Interview · Armaan Mishra and Dan Cohen

Dan Cohen is a public speaker and dementia-care advocate best known for founding Right to Music, a nonprofit focused on music-based interventions in healthcare. Cohen’s efforts were captured in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory. Cohen interviews Armaan about his grant-funded research in music and dementia.

Read →

2025 - 2026

THE SOUND OF CONNECTION: Practical Tips For Teen Musicians and Music Directors Who Work With People Living With Dementia (PLWD)

Project Lead · UCSF Division of Geriatrics

Music is a powerful medium to improve the well-being and cognitive function of PLWD. This guidebook serves as a practical framework to lead effective music experiences with older adults - many of whom are at risk for brain health changes, have dementia, or are families and care partners of PLWD. By centering relationships, teens can tailor these sessions to deepen meaning, joy and connection through music. Armaan was awarded the Maude's Ventures Young Founders grant for this work.

Read →

2024 - present

Family House Music Workshops

Facilitator · UCSF Benioff Family House

Armaan leads interactive music workshops for children and families navigating serious illness. Through improvisation, spontaneous songwriting, rhythm games, and performance, he invites participants to explore music in their own ways. For him, the most meaningful moments are often the unexpected ones, from shared laughs to newly improvised melodies to the joy of sharing a piano bench together.

2026 - 2027

Bay Area High School Music Festival & Battle of the Bands

Co-Founder and Co-Host

Inaugural music festival with 13 high schools and 40+ performers across the Bay Area. Co-launched an event filled with jazz, rock, pop, and fusion. Small and large ensembles, with a culminating joint improvisation battle. Second annual scheduled for May 1st, 2027.