W.O. Smith Community Music School

This organization is amazing!!! I’m currently a volunteer and it is so rewarding and fun! The staff are super helpful and incredibly kind and everyone cares so much about the kids they serve! I will be volunteering here as long as I’m in Nashville! So awesome!! :)

I have volunteered at this school for three years as a voice and piano teacher and it has been such a wonderful experience! My favorite part about teaching music is the joy that it brings to people. The staff are all incredible people that work so hard for the students! There is so much joy in this building and it a favorite part of my week!

WO Smith is one of the most supportive community based programs in the city of Nashville. It not only does it teach children the skill of playing a musical instrument, but also important skills for future lives. I have firsthand witnessed this transformation of students I thought classical guitar. I also have the privilege of seeing this from a far as an active board member in this great organization

The school provides kids with limited resources the opportunity to receive music lessons from volunteers. I’ve been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people here who dedicate themselves to helping others and making a difference in these kids’ lives! The school is not only for future musicians. The work ethics, the creative expression and the communication skills the kids have learned in the music classes will help them build a bright future!

W.O Smith is an extraordinary organization for inclusive music learning for students of all abilities. I served as a volunteer teacher and formed great relationships with staff and students.

Where do I start. As a student, WO Smith Music School allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow as a musical artist being taught by world class musicians. They provided literally everything I needed to become the best musician I could be including a nurturing environment. The staff at WO Smith were like true family and guided us in such a positive way, introducing styles of music and theatre that couldn’t have gotten any within the public school system. Opportunities to go to the White House, Many Top Tier Concerts and have conversations about music with industry professionals. Those experiences opened our eyes to the possibilities of being successful in so many ways to within and outside the music industry. As a Teacher, The school provided me with many resources to be successful in my classes and the ability to work with so many working musicians in the Nashville scene and nationally. The students that I teach are some of the brightest kids I’ve ever met with a passion for music just like I had. The leadership of WO Smith has been amazing. They really listen to the students and give them the tools they truly need as technology and the music industry moves into the future. Every staff person selected had contributed greatly to the movement of the school keeping the loving nurturing and environment intact. For all of these reasons, I am now a professional Saxophonist with a Music Degree from Tennessee State University with a passion for HipHop and Jazz. Along with that I currently run a studio and I park for a sound and lighting company. Non of these options would have been possible without the support of W.O. Smith Community Music School!!!!

I cannot brag on W.O. Smith enough. Their mission is beyond amazing, and I could speak to that endlessly. But I also want to add - they treat their volunteers so well. I've been volunteering for 4+ years now, and I have never questioned if I should keep going. The events they have for volunteers, the small gifts they give us, and the way they treat us - it makes it easy to keep being a part of this organization!

W. O. Smith has some of the kindest, most passionate individuals I’ve met. They truly care about every student and volunteer who walks through their door. They have been so supportive to me, and it has helped me to build confidence as a music educator. The students also benefit heavily from this program, having great mentors and role models. Music is so important, and the people at W. O. Smith are so passionate about making music accessible to everyone.

I first entered the doors of the W.O. Smith school a couple years ago. I was there as a volunteer to work at one of their events which is a band challenge. I was immediately impressed by the facility but even more impressed by the people there. I got there early as I was going to help with stage management and met the staff who were friendly and professional and I was immediately impressed. We did the event which was fun, but it was at the end of the event that got me to fall in love with this place. The bands that entered the contest were generally comprised of people who work in the music industry representing their employers. One band however had a student of the school playing with them. I noticed that the student was very accomplished on his instrument and you could see that he enjoyed playing very much. At the end of the contest they were handing out awards and after they were done they had one more award to give out. The student who has been playing with the band was given and presented an instrument. This was a very nice instrument and one of a professional nature. I’m not exactly sure who gave him the instrument but it was probably someone associated with the school and wanted to give the student a really nice instrument in recognition of his outstanding musical skills and talent. It wasn’t until I saw the look on the kids face that I was hooked and realized what a connection the school makes with it students in the community. It moved me to the point to ask to be a volunteer teacher and I also asked to be on the advisory board. I wanted to be on the front lines helping kids and I also wanted to help in whatever capacity I could as an advisory board member.

It’s been two years now and words cannot express how amazing this place is and the effect it has on the students and the effort and care that the staff has for students. With every lesson, and every board meeting, this is re-enforced. Back when we were doing in person lessons, you could walk into the building and see students and parents in the main room hanging out socializing doing homework and generally being a community. When I first saw this I couldn’t believe how warm and receptive a place this was. It was unlike any school or music school i had ever attended. It is just one of the many things that makes up the W.O. Smith School.

I will continue to be a volunteer, a teacher, and a administrative advisory board member as long as they will let me!

I have been honored to be involved with W.O. Smith Music School for many years and it never ceases to amaze me how exceptionally caring and dedicated this school is. It grows with and for the kids - and positive, enduring bonds are formed in many lives. It leads by example with its forward-thinking leadership, staff and volunteers and creates an indelible learning experience in music and beyond.

My first experience with this amazing school was as a volunteer teacher almost 10 years ago. I had the opportunity to teach percussion lessons to a high school senior to help prepare her for her college drumline audition. Great news...she made the drumline!

Over the past 4 years, I have had the pleasure of serving on the school's Advisory Council and now Board of Directors! This school is amazing and continues to touch the lives of hundreds of students every day! This is by far, the most amazing music school of it's kind! I love the W.O.Smith Music School!

I was taught piano, trumpet and drums at W.O. Smith as a child. I absolutely loved everything about this place. As a kid I didn't quite get the blood, sweat and tears that went on behind the scenes here, but wow - I do now. I still have my old W.O. Smith Summer Camp t-shirt! Great memories and I'll never forget it. My experience at W.O. Smith was life changing. I've moved away from Nashville, but I've had college friends move there and I've recommended they volunteer there. I had 5-star treatment at W.O. Smith.

I taught guitar at the music school for several years and seen some wonderful talent there. It's a great organization and very organized. I've gotten great referrals for my own business as a result of being a volunteer. They are well connected in the community and serve a great purpose of teaching kids music in a safe and positively influential environment.

I taught guitar here a while back & I have helped them out with computers a few times since. I also created a birdhouse for their annual fundraiser. These folks are AWESOME! I can't say enough about this program. The work they are doing changes the lives of these kids. Music heals the soul & some of these kids can use some healing. I personally saw how music brought joy to my students. Sometimes they would come in and their spirits were very down. After a few minutes of playing some music....the smiles start. This is a bright moment in their day. If there is only one non-profit you give support to, make WO Smith the one.

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).

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.

I am a current advisory council member and a former private lesson instructor. My experience teaching at WO Smith was amazing. To be able to share the gift of music with another person is a blessing and one that I am thankful to have. The school always made my job as a teacher enjoyable as the administration of the program crossed every T and dotted every I. I can not think of a non-profit organization in Nashville that speaks to this being "music city". I encourage everyone who reads this to visit the website www.wosmith.org and find a way to be involved. The gift of music is a powerful thing!!

I teach piano to kids who qualify for the free lunch program and have volunteered with W.O. Smith for five years. WO staff does an incredible job on a very small budget. We impact the lives of so many kids. If they stay in the program they all graduate from high school. Many go on to college. Music helps kids learn math and that they can succeed with discipline and hard work.

I have been associated with the W. O. Smith School for 16 years in one capacity or another, starting as a volunteer and rotating from the council to the board and back numerous times. I have watched the school grow and fund a beautiful new school, record an album with Jimmy Buffett, receive a Pensky truck load of free musical equipment (including pianos) from the Today Show's Al Roker and perform at the White House for the Obamas. This is the most effective and efficiently run organization with which I have ever been involved. It has given many children an opportunity to learn and grow and feel good about themselves and their accomplishments.

I have been on boards of many non-profits over a 38 year period. W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School is the most well-managed non-profit I have ever experienced.The fiscal management, as well as the care and concern for the students and curriculum are unsurpassed.As a result, our company and I personally have made it our #1 charitable cause for our personal donations.

In my 12 year association with WO Smith Music School I have found it to be the best operated, most effective non-profit in the nation. With a full time staff of 3 it oversees a vast army of over 150 volunteer teachers that reach over 500 children of low income families with the opportunity to learn a musical; instrument. The impact that this has made in the lives of so many is both overwhelming and gratifying.