Talking Up Music Education

American folklore scholar and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Bill Ivey explores ideas for how to achieve meaning and purpose in life through art and music as American society moves away from work and wealth as a means to fulfillment.

2018 American Eagle Award honorees Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul, and Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer share their musical origin stories, including the evolution of the iconic jazz vocal group. They explore the importance of vocal training as part of caring for your instrument, and the hard work that goes into maintaining a lifelong musical career.

Professional vocalist and musician Thomas Claxton just might be the hardest working musician you haven't heard of... yet. With more than 300 performances per year, all over the U.S., Claxton performs original material as both a solo artist and with his band, "The Myth." He also can play more than 1,800 cover songs and was Rockwell UnScene Magazine's "Best Male Vocalist" in 2014 and 2015. Special thanks to Cole Clark USA for the guitars made available for the podcast.

Country music band Parmalee was raised on a diet of southern rock, country, and blues. They've played on country music’s biggest stages, landed on the top of Billboard’s Country chart, and have 30 million combined streams on Spotify. Special thanks to the CMA Foundation as well as Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and Cole Clark USA for the guitars made available for their performance on the podcast.

Mike DiCesare, co-founder and President of Jamboxx shares his commitment to making a product that allows everyone to play music, regardless of ability. The Jamboxx is an electronic, USB-powered, breath-controlled instrument styled after a harmonica that plays digital MIDI notes. Notes are played by sipping or puffing via the mouthpiece. Moving the mouthpiece left or right determines which note is played. https://www.jamboxx.com/our-instruments

Arabian Prince got his start in Compton where his mother was a piano teacher and his father was a radio talk show host. He developed an affinity for technology at a young age and began paying around with synthesizers, echo boxes, and computers to make new sounds. His career took off when he co-founded N.W.A. and he continues to write songs, produce, and DJ—in addition to his big philanthropic project, Open Labs.

Forte Tenors Josh Page, Alok Kumar, and Zach Page talk about finding their voices as young men; their musical influences; training like a tenor; performing in operas all over the world; and the role of social media for professional musicians.

Vanessa Carlton, 2018 NAMM Foundation SupportMusic Champion Award recipient, gets real with host Mary Luehrsen about becoming a super star before she was ready; settling in to her freedom as a songwriter; parenting as a touring musician; and her philanthropic work with Nashville schools.

NAfME and The NAMM Foundation have worked together on music education advocacy initiatives for many years. In this episode of Talking Up Music Education, host Mary Luehrsen catches up with NAfME’s Mike Blakeslee and Denese Odegaard as they discuss the current landscape of music education—and how to effectively prepare music teachers to ask for support from their administration.

Partners and collaborators from AEP, NAESP and The NAMM Foundation get specific on how to create resources that are accessible and informative for decision-makers in education—and how to spread the message that arts and music are part of a well-rounded education that develops academic and emotional intelligence in children.

Multi-instrumentalist and five-time Grammy-nominated CMA artist Hunter Hayes went from playing a toy accordion to becoming proficient in playing the guitar, piano, and actual accordion—among dozens of other instruments. In a heart-to-heart chat with host Mary Luehrsen, Hayes shares his love for antique timepieces; his belief that all kids should grow up with music; and his hope that nerd culture is more than just a passing fad.

Iconic music and video innovators Ok Go performed at the 2018 NAMM Foundation Celebration for Music Education at The NAMM Show on January 25. Drummer Dan Konopka stopped by earlier that day to chat about the band’s origin story; receiving his first drum kit at nine years old; and how no one in the band managed to get sick among “60 vomit incidents” during the filming of their groundbreaking video for their hit song, “Upside Down & Inside Out.”

Bass guitarist Bunny Brunel’s musical journey was anything but a straight line to playing alongside jazz legends Chick Correa, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. The two-time Grammy-nominated bass player shares his journey from teaching himself to play piano as a child in France, to attending Ecole Hoteliere de Nice for hospitality, to becoming a seriously advanced student of the upright bass at the Conservatory in Nice, to finding his way to his own unique melody.

International performance artists, the Masumi Trio, found each other against all odds while enrolled at the Los Angeles College of Music. Masumi, who is the trio’s lead singer is from Japan; Diego, drummer, is from Mexico; and Bruno, lead guitarist, hails from Brazil. The three musicians discuss when each had their “aha” moment, leading them to pursue music full time; the practicalities of sustaining a career in the music industry; and live performance as a way to have a conversation with strangers.

The recipient of the 2017 Patrick John Hughes Parent/Booster Award, Greg Hooper of Powder Springs, GA, and Patrick John Hughes, who the award is named after, sat down with host Mary Luehrsen to share moving stories and anecdotes of supporting their kids’ band activities despite serious physical and, at times, overwhelming, emotional challenges.

Three band directors and three drum majors from three different states sit and chat with Host Mary Luehrsen about their journey to Music for All-Bands of America Grand Nationals Marching Band competition. The conversation expands beyond the national competition to explore what makes these music programs so successful and how having a great program is the best advocacy tool.

Indiana Arts Education Network (IAEN) founder, former NAMM Chair, and Owner of Paige’s Music Mark Goff explains how he remains “relentlessly positive” in his advocacy efforts with the Indiana State Department of Education to ensure that all children in his state reach their full potential, which includes music education as part of the school day.

While Indianapolis was transformed into a marching band city for the 2017 Grand Nationals championship, Music for All President Eric Martin talks with host Mary Luehrsen about the hard work, commitment, values, and transformative experience of preparing for the “Super Bowl” of high school marching band competitions.

Phil Madeira is a multi-award winning, multi-instrumentalist, who has played alongside the likes of Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Garth Brooks, and more. In this podcast episode, Madeira talks about his musical beginnings as a drummer in his high school marching band, his current piano-centric solo record, and playing in front of millions on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Artie Kornfeld is a legendary songwriter, producer, and music promoter, and the man behind the Woodstock Festival. In this special episode recorded at Summer NAMM, Kornfeld reflects on making all-state in his high school honor band, meeting Fats Domino in his dining room, and wanting peace to reign at Woodstock.