Right after I posted my previous post about the importance of music education and the arts, I went on Facebook and found a lovely article that one of my friends (who is also now an intern at VH1 Save The Music — contact me for more info, if interested in the internship!) posted.

Karl Dean, the mayor of Nashville, launched a new program for the Nashville public school districts called “Music Makes Us: The Nashville Music Education Project.”  The goal of the entire project is to redesign music education as it is known today, and make Music City an innovator and leader in the way music education is approached and taught….   It will be designed to incorporate contemporary music with modern technology in order to reflect how diverse music truly is.  In addition to the already in-place music programs (which are expected to be ‘enhanced’), the ones that are expected to be added to middle and high school levels are just simply astounding!  They will not only open doors for students interested in music, but also appeal to students who never thought to take band or choir or “traditional” music education classes.  The new programs are expected to include: rock band and hip-hop performance, songwriting and composition, and more technology-based productions (i.e. DJ/Remixing/Recording).

This could not make me more excited!  This is redefining music education and bringing it not only to the 21st century, but to the children who are able to grasp it and make something from it.  These children will be given opportunities and chances to explore music in ways no other generation ever has before.

I will leave you with a quote from Mayor Karl Dean about the entire program, “Through Music Makes Us, Music City will become the standard bearer of what music education can be and should be in public education,” Dean said. “Our innovative curriculum will draw in students that may have felt left out in the past. Beginning at a young age, Metro students will be exposed to a wide array of musical styles and influences.”

AMEN.