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The Joy of Music

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The Joy of Music

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Written by Courtney Craig

Friday, 29 February 2008

The Joy of Music You may already know the sounds made by a piano or flute or bassoon, but to a needy child, the sound of music could sound a lot like education, opportunity and growth.

Recognizing the need for a response to declining public school music education budgets in East Tennessee, and desiring to serve those less fortunate, broadcast radio entrepreneur James A. Dick founded the Joy of Music School in 1998. Now in its 10th year, the school provides weekly lessons and instruments to disadvantaged children at no cost. The Joy of Music School touches hundreds of lives every week, bringing together kids who have the desire, but not the means, to make music, with many of Knoxville's brightest musicians who are committed to making a difference in their community.

The teaching faculty of the School is made up of volunteers, many of whom are making a living in music. "My association with the Joy of Music School has been an important part of my career as a university educator and a bassoonist," said Keith McClelland, professor of bassoon at the UT School of Music and a past board member of the Joy of Music School. "I have always had a sense of being a music resource and giving back to the community, and the Joy of Music School has allowed me to do that."

The Joy of Music School is a nonprofit organization run by six staff members and overseen by a board of directors of 32 prominent business and arts leaders. The School offers lessons in all band, orchestral and jazz instruments as well as voice. There are 45 volunteer teachers who give one to three hours per week teaching private lessons to about 100 kids. The School reaches another 200 or so children by sending a professional music teacher to Boys and Girls Clubs and Emerald Youth Foundation sites for general music classes, reaching the kids who are not able to get to the School's spacious Euclid Avenue building.

Since the start of the Joy of Music School, several faculty members and students at UT School of Music have donated their time as a means of outreach to the organization. UT faculty member and bassoonist Keith McClelland was involved with one of the Joy of Music's biggest success stories. He once taught a young boy named Preston Sangster at the school on the bassoon, who later became the first graduate of the Joy of Music School to enter the University of Tennessee as a music major.

"Preston started as a high school student and studied with me for two or three years," McClelland said. "Most band directors around here know I will go out anywhere to start a bassoon player. Preston started in about seventh or eighth grade in group lessons, so I've known him since before eighth grade. He actually took lessons from a student of mine for a while."

In order to make families and students aware of the services they provide, information about the Joy of Music School is sent to public schools and libraries. Children who participate must come from low-income families that typically qualify for free or reduced lunch at school. Students of the Joy of Music School range in age from 5 to 18 years of age.

The school is financed through donations from individuals, as well as grants and gifts from corporations, arts councils and foundations. It is the only all-music school in the United States that is independent from a church or college, whose teachers are all volunteers, and that offers free lessons.

Amanda Taylor, a UT graduate assistant in flute, volunteers weekly to teach a general music class for the Joy of Music School.

"It's a preliminary course that initially gets the students interested in music," Taylor said.

"A typical class will include a bunch of music games and fun stuff to get them excited and interested in music. We sing songs that relate to holidays and play notes on the recorder. There's a lot of drum use. We stick to a set system of curriculum-based classes."

The general music class also presents a group recital every spring. Recently the students have been rehearsing three songs on the hand bells - America the Beautiful, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone, and Kumbaya.

"It's an educational approach to get the kids to where they will be prepared to play an instrument," Taylor said. "You can tell by watching the kids where their interests will lie. This class gives them an opportunity to see if they like certain things."

David Lothamer, a senior studying music composition at UT, has taught with the Joy of Music School for three years. He teaches piano to a brother and sister, ages 15 and 14.

"It was hard at the beginning to find a good rhythm and find things to get them interested," Lothamer said. "The brother tries to work on theory and chords and writing songs, and the sister is better with techniques.

She likes pop songs and hymns. Their mom said it would be such a blessing if they could learn to play church hymns. Now they both lay at their church, mainly by ear."

Although it's hard work, Lothamer says he loves volunteering and doing something positive for his community. As a music major at UT, the Joy of Music School was also a way for him to get some significant early experience in teaching private lessons.

Lothamer also enjoys the friendly staff and coordination among volunteers, although he acknowledges the school's need for more volunteers. The Joy of Music School has anywhere from 25 to 60 kids on its waiting list at all times.

"It's an opportunity to volunteer and do something for the community," Lothamer said. "I get to share my abilities with others who are less fortunate."

The Joy of Music School provides instruments for all its students. The majority of these instruments are donated, and the school always needs more. The school maintains an inventory of over 500 instruments, in various states of repair.

Restoring them and keeping them in playable condition is a major challenge. Donations of instruments or financial contributions toward instrument repair and upkeep are always welcomed. Recently the school placed pianos in three families' homes (at no cost to the families) so that their budding musicians would have a real instrument on which to practice.

Adding to the program's need for financial support is its new space, which they occupied in 2003 and on which they completed renovations in 2005. The new space means more room for more students, but in order to keep the Joy of Music School going strong, the School continues seeking fiscal support in all areas, including capital funds for the building, operating funds for running the school and endowment funds, to provide a solid future for the organization.

"This [school] is important because there are a lot of kids who have talents that others may have looked over," Taylor, the UT flutist, said. "It gives the kids someone to look up to. It's about helping people. The students work so hard because they know you are there giving up your time, so they want to do their best.

"Everyone is there for the same reason - a great community support group for kids," Taylor continued. "It's the most rewarding thing I do all week. The kids are so excited to see me, and it gives me such a rush. It's awesome!"