On April 24, 2026, Lindbergh High School kicked off its 13th annual Musicthon, a 36-hour event featuring nonstop musical performances to raise money for childhood cancer research.
“I love the event so much. I have been participating in it since like second grade and it’s always been so special to me,” said Kate Basler (12), this year’s Band Vice President and co-organizer.
Performances began in the commons at 7 a.m. Friday and continued without interruption until 7 p.m. Saturday. The event features student performers across multiple programs who take the stage in shifts, typically 30-minute time slots.
“There will be continuous 36 hours of music, featuring performances by groups such as Lindbergh Jazz Ensemble, Long Elementary School Choir, Blame The Internet, and many more,” Basler said.
Musicthon was entirely student-led, organized by Band President Raphael DelRosario (12), Basler, and multiple student committees who spent months preparing for the event.
“The fact that it is 100% student-led and has continued for all these years shows how much it means to our band program,” Basler said.
The event was also livestreamed on YouTube, allowing a wider audience to participate and support the cause beyond the school community.
“The goal is to raise as much money as possible for Alex’s Lemonade Stand to support pediatric cancer research,” Basler said.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to funding pediatric cancer research, was founded in 2000 by Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a four-year-old cancer patient who began a lemonade stand to help raise money for doctors to find cures. Before her passing at age eight, she had raised $1 million. Since then, the foundation has raised over $300 million and funded more than 1,500 research projects.
The tradition of Musicthon originated at Lindbergh in 2012 after an event called Sunday Night Lights, in which a young child named Alex participated in the band despite battling illness. This Alex is a different child from Alexandra “Alex” Scott, the founder of Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
“Alex, a six-year-old, rocked a pair of maracas throughout the night and charmed the band and crowd alike with his positive energy. Alex, unfortunately, passed the following year from his disease, and we wanted to do something to honor him that the whole community could enjoy as well,” said Luke Borkowski (Class of ’14), founder of the LHS Musicthon.
Since then, the event has grown into a major tradition at Lindbergh, raising approximately $55,000 over the past 12 years for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
“Musicthon has shown that LHS students and staff can work together, outside of their regular activities and classes, to produce 36 straight hours of music,” Borkowski said.
This year, the event reached a new milestone, raising over $9,000, setting a record for Lindbergh’s Musicthon fundraising efforts.
“I have never seen a more impressive event put together,” Basler said.
Beyond fundraising, Musicthon highlights the wide range of musical talent within the Lindbergh community, engaging students across different programs and grade levels.
“Seeing students from across all our music programs come together to bring such a big task to life is truly remarkable,” Basler said.
The 2026 event also featured a “Circus” theme, along with games, hand-made decorations, and concessions to keep the energy high throughout the 36 hours.
As Musicthon enters its second decade, it continues to grow in both scale and impact, uniting students through music while supporting an important cause.
“I have no doubt that it will continue well into the future,” Borkowski said.
