The founder of MusicCorps was our final speaker. MusicCorps is a part of AmeriCorps, and it tries to use music as a means to other forms of service (ie, using music to catalyze political participation) and using music as an end in itself by expanding music education because music helps students succeed. This is especially true for at risk youth, and it is much more true of music than things like sports.
One interesting thing: when he was showing all of the studies about how awesome music was, he mentioned that the Mozart Effect study was false. It was funded by a Mozart organization, and no other organization has been able to reproduce it. Music is good, but Mozart isn't uniquely good.