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• W O SMITH NASHVILLE COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL

This is an organization where mission, management and participation of board, employees and patrons all come together. The school, with only three full time employees, manages approximately 200 volunteers to serve 400 students. In addition to just teaching music to underserved children, the school is now reaching out to help these children apply for college, teach the volunteer teachers and provide music events for the community. The only problem is that even more students want to learn at W.O. Smith Music School.

As the daughter of two musicians, I know how important music education can be in the life of a child. The years I spent studying piano have been a benefit to me in ways I never could have imagined. Every child deserves the opportunity to have the well-rounded education that music can provide, and the work that the W.O.Smith school does provides virtually unlimited opportunities for the students who participate. I have interviewed a number of the students and have seen how their pride in accomplishment has given them a new confidence. From the recital hall to the White House, W.O. Smith students are going places!

I have served as a volunteer teacher since it's doors opened. It is a marvelous place to participate in and observe a child's growth in the scholarship and artistry of music. When I was a full time teacher and sometimes questioned if music in my classroom was having any effect, my weekly after-school WOS sessions reaffirmed the power music has as a discipline & inspiration for children & youth. Many hours given by so many musicians in such a nurturing atmosphere has impacted generations across Nashville communities. It is a model for any city seeking to access community/professional music resources for its underserved clientele (school aged children & youth).

W.O. Smith school opened my eyes to the power of giving and reaffirmed my opinion on the power of music. I was a volunteer teacher for a year and I saw 1st hand how much this school does for for the kids. It was awesome to see the gleem in my students eyes when they "got it". When they were able to play the part they thought was too hard or learn their favorite song. I had students who really didn't have much and were having trouble at home, and their lessons were a tiny escape from all of that. When I think of Jonah, Lynn & the staff, I smile. They are doing GREAT work.

WO Smith Music School is a dynamic organization that fills a great need in Nashville. Studies have shown that children who participate in arts and music programs have better self-discipline and greater self-confidence, and unfortunately, public school systems across the country are cutting arts and music programs due to lack of funding. WO Smith Music School helps to close that gap by offering an array of music lessons to children for next to nothing. Thanks to WO Smith Music School and the more than 200 volunteer teachers, children are learning to play a musical instrument, are learning music theory, are singing in a choir and are gaining exposure to the world of music. Without WO Smith Music School, hundreds of children would not have the opportunity to participate in such a program.