2017 Music In Our Schools – Music Inspires Tour to Visit Salina South Middle School March 15
This March-April Give a Note Foundation is hosting its fourth annual Music In Our Schools – Music Inspires Tour, and the next stop is Salina South Middle School! This year along with Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country, the CMA Foundation is joining by matching grants to the six schools selected for the Tour – with a total of $30,000 to be presented to schools for their music programs.
After more than 60,000 views of the 12 semifinalist schools’ videos for the 2017 Music In Our Schools – Music Inspires Tour, during which viewers voted daily for their favorite schools last fall, the Salina South Middle School in Salina, Kansas, was among the six schools selected to be part of the Tour. Salina South Middle School will be presented a “big check” from Give a Note Foundation for $2,500, which will be matched by the CMA Foundation. The CMA Foundation has also named music educator Matt Gerry a 2017 CMA Music Teacher of Excellence and will attend a celebratory dinner hosted by five-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town Wednesday, April 26 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, the home of CMA Music Festival’s Nightly Concerts.
At the Tour stop March 15, Radio Disney artist Tegan Marie will join in celebrating the talented students with a performance at their school hosted by Radio Disney Country on-air personality Betsy. Salina South Middle School will also be presented an honorary Radio Disney Music Awards (RDMA) “ARDY” Statuette.
Radio Disney artist Tegan Marie performs at Salina South Middle School March 15, 2017.
“The students chose to perform a round by Mozart which I thought was very fitting,” said music teacher Matthew Gerry about the video Salina South Middle School students submitted. “Music brings us together, and the very nature of a round relies on all sections performing well to produce a successful musical experience. This group definitely inspires me, and I love to see them inspire each other!”
“Every student needs a place to belong,” continues Mr. Gerry, “but in my experience there is nothing like the arts and in particular music for fostering community, comradery, and empathy. Are we really making an impact in the lives of students though through music education? YES! Every time I see a timid child step up and play a solo in front of hundreds of people in an audience and see them ‘find their voice’; every time I see a group of my students, who all come from totally different backgrounds and totally different walks of life play a beautiful piece of music together; every time I see a student able to express a feeling through music that they couldn’t ever dream of putting into words—I know we are making a difference.” Mr. Gerry will use the grant money to help meet needs in the guitar program to sustain the music program and continue to reach more students with music.
“I am so glad to add Give a Note Foundation and the CMA Foundation to the list of [local] organizations who have helped us in our journey,” said Mr. Gerry.
View video from the tour stop here, here, and here.
Following are the dates and schools for the 2017 Music In Our Schools Tour, including the schools of two Tri-M® Music Honor Society chapters and the colleges/universities of two collegiate NAfME chapters that raised the most donations for Give a Note during the fall’s “Music Ed Matters” Chapter Challenge October 1-December 31:
- March 3: University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO (Collegiate winner)
- March 10: Collinsville High School, Collinsville, IL (Tri-M winner)
- March 15: Salina South Middle School, Salina, KS
- March 17: Joliet Central High School, Joliet, IL
- March 24: Ramona High School, Riverside, CA
- March 29: Wenatchee High School, Wenatchee, WA
- April 5: James Otis Elementary, Boston, MA
- April 6: Marblehead High School, Marblehead, MA (Tri-M winner)
- April 7: Rhode Island College, Providence, RI (Collegiate winner)
- April 21: Tar River Elementary, Franklinton, NC
To learn more about Give a Note Foundation and the Music In Our Schools Tour, visit www.giveanote.org and follow the hashtag #MusicInspires. Be sure to follow the Tour on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
###
Media contacts:
For Give a Note Foundation:
Lindsay Sheldon
LindsayS@giveanote.org
(703) 860-4000 ext. 230
For the CMA Foundation:
Courtney Beebe
cbeebe@CMAworld.com
615-244-2840
About the Give a Note Foundation
About the CMA Foundation: CMA created the nonprofit 501(c)(3) CMA Foundation in 2011. Guided by the generosity of the Country Music community, the CMA Foundation focuses on improving and sustaining music education programs everywhere while supporting worthwhile causes important to the Country Music Association. In 2017, the CMA Foundation has earmarked a record $3.1 million to 44 in- and after-school music education programs across the country, bringing the Foundation’s total contributions to date to $17.5 million.
