Founded in 2018 by J. Hamilton Hodgson and Tyler Garnett, Department of Sound started as a local program in Sacramento, California, running music production and beat-making workshops for young people out of community centers. Eight years later, we've grown into a nonprofit with three program lanes serving youth and emerging artists across the Sacramento region. Our flagship, Sound & Story Labs, brings 12-week residencies and 5-week workshops directly into schools and community centers, where students learn music and podcast production alongside journaling, breathwork, and personal development. We work with six school districts: Sacramento City USD, Elk Grove USD, Twin Rivers USD, Washington Unified, Esparto Unified, and San Juan USD. We have delivered programming at 33+ schools and community sites, including La Familia Counseling Center, the Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center, Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center, Oak Park Community Center, Roberts Family Development Center, BTU Arts, Sacramento Public Library, Armstead Academic Project, and Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum. To date, we've reached more than 10,000 young people, and every student finishes the program with original music or a podcast they made themselves. In 2025, we launched the Sound Business Summit, a workshop series for independent Sacramento musicians focused on music business education, professional tools, and networking. The pilot drew 275 applicants and served 150 artists: 92 in person at Shattered Records, Sacramento's premier recording studio, with the rest joining online. The summit featured curriculum from the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship and artist development tools from Venice Music. Participants rated it 4.8 out of 5. Through our Amplifying Voices initiative, we work alongside tribal nations including the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and Wilton Rancheria to produce content and events that lift up indigenous stories and underrepresented community voices. Our supporters and partners include the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the NBA Foundation, Apple, Spotify, the NFL, the Sacramento Kings, SMUD, Armstead Academic Project, 916 Ink, Shattered Records, Venice Music, the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship, T-Rock Communications, HERE, the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento, State of California, U.S. Government, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, and Wilton Rancheria. Our work has been covered by Billboard, Forbes, NPR, CapRadio, CBS News Sacramento, ABC 10, Comstock's Magazine, KCRA 3, The Sacramento Bee, and the Sacramento Business Journal. All of our youth programs are free. Our instructors are teaching artists from the same communities as our students, and our curriculum is built to be welcoming, culturally grounded, and shaped by what young people in Sacramento tell us they need. Whether a kid wants to make beats, launch a podcast, or just have a safe place to be creative, DOS is here to support.
Department of Sound empowers under-resourced Sacramento youth through music and podcast production, mentorship, and safe spaces for self-expression and emotional growth. We teach sound engineering with a focus on mental wellness, equipping young people to share their stories, lift up their communities, and build careers in Sacramento’s creative economy.
Department of Sound provides all of our youth programming at no cost and subsidizes program expenses for our school and community partners. Funds raised through the Big Day of Giving will directly support our 2026 Sound & Story Labs summer cohorts, expand our after-school programming into new school sites, and help sustain day-to-day operations as we grow. We’re also scaling our Sound Business Summit to reach more of Sacramento’s independent music creators, and continuing our Amplifying Voices work with local tribal nations. Every dollar helps us reach more young people and keep our doors open to the families and communities who need us most.
Department of Sound exists so that access to music, creative tools, and professional opportunity doesn't depend on what zip code a kid grows up in. We teach the core technical and creative skills of music and podcast production while giving students resources that support their wellbeing, creative expression, and a real path into the music and entertainment industry for those who want it. We focus on reaching young people from all backgrounds, with particular attention to students in under-resourced Title I schools. Public schools in lower-income communities often see arts education cut first, leaving students without the creative opportunities their peers in wealthier districts take for granted. That's the gap we exist to close. By putting real tools and real-world opportunities in the hands of young people who might not otherwise have access, we're working to change that. We measure our impact by looking at who we're reaching, what they're creating, and what they tell us through demographic data, participant and family feedback, and the volume of original work our students produce. Our board, staff, and teaching artists reflect the cultural diversity of Sacramento. We're just as intentional about the partners and community leaders we work with, from school districts and community centers to tribal nations and creative industry professionals, so that every young person who comes through our programs sees someone who looks like them.
Organization name
Department of Sound
2018
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$250,001-$500,000
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Program
Demographics Served
Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, General population
BIPOC Leadership
Board Chair
Local Counties Served
Sacramento, Yolo
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
2514 CHINATOWN ALYYolo, CA, US
El Dorado, CA, US
Placer, CA, US
Sacramento, CA, US