As part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s October 6 All for the Hall New York benefit concert, featuring Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Paul Simon and Carrie Underwood, the museum will bring its flagship education program, Words & Music, to New York City Public Schools.
In an innovative partnership, the museum will join forces with fellow nonprofit Education Through Music, a foundation that promotes the integration of music into the curricula of disadvantaged schools, to provide Words & Music for students at Pelham Gardens Middle School/MS 566 in the Bronx. Students will co-write an original song under the direction of Grammy-winning songwriter Liz Rose, who has co-written dozens of songs with Taylor Swift as well as the recently nominated CMA Song of the Year “Girl Crush,” performed by Little Big Town.
This week, students will begin their work with Rose through a distance learning session using video-conference technology. On October 5, Rose will visit MS 566 in the Bronx, meet the class in person and make final preparations for their song’s premiere performance at the All for the Hall New York benefit concert. On October 6, the students and Rose will kick off the evening and perform their song, opening the stage for the stellar lineup of artists who collectively boast 57 Grammy wins.
“For nearly four decades, the Words & Music program has helped students access and express their creativity, while building essential language arts skills,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “The lyrics the students write can be personal and moving reflections of their real-world experience or offer insights into their imagination, which often leave us in awe. The museum is proud to be able to extend the reach of this learning opportunity to New York City Public Schools via this meaningful partnership with Education Through Music.”
“Education Through Music is delighted to partner with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and to have our students compose and perform their original song under the direction of the talented Liz Rose,” said Katherine Damkohler, executive director of Education Through Music “The students at MS 566 are excited to collaborate on the creation of original lyrics that reflect their personal experiences, and to see their work come to life when they perform alongside the some of the biggest names in country music.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Education Through Music will continue to offer the Words & Music program to New York City Public Schools throughout the 2015–16 academic year. The All for the Hall New York fundraiser will dedicate net proceeds to fund the museum’s education programs, including Words & Music.
Since 1979, the award-winning Words & Music program has helped more than 110,000 students tell their stories through songwriting. The program reached 10,000 students in 2015 alone. Words & Music supports curriculum standards by teaching students about the creative songwriting process and connecting them to professional songwriters from Nashville’s creative community, who then transform student lyrics into finished songs. Through the museum’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Foundation of Tennessee Learning Lab, located in the Taylor Swift Education Center, the educators and songwriters extend the reach of this education program beyond the museum walls and into classrooms all over the world.
For more information about the Words & Music program, visit www.countrymusichalloffame.org/wordsandmusic.
About Liz Rose:
Liz Rose is one of the most successful songwriters in Nashville. She won a Grammy in 2009 for co-writing “White Horse” with Taylor Swift. In 2011, she won an ACM award for Song of the Year, co-writing the Eli Young Band hit “Crazy Girl” with Lee Brice. She was named SESAC Songwriter of the Year in 2007. A Dallas native, Rose had her first major cut in 2001 with Billy Gilman’s “Elisabeth.” Other Rose hits include Gary Allan’s “Songs About Rain”; Swift’s “Tim McGraw,” “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “You Belong with Me”; and RaeLynn’s “God Made Girls.” With Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, Rose co-wrote Little Big Town’s hit “Sober” and the vocal group’s 2015 blockbuster “Girl Crush.”
About Education Through Music:
Education Through Music was founded to promote the integration of music into the curricula of disadvantaged schools in order to enhance students’ academic performance and general development.
ETM believes that every child deserves a well-rounded education: one that includes music. Unfortunately, many schools, especially those serving children in low-income communities, provide no music instruction or rely solely on short-term programs that do not serve every student. ETM created a comprehensive program that incorporates music into the education of every child, including those with special needs. ETM forms long-term partnerships with inner-city elementary and middle schools that lack the resources to develop school-wide music programs. To learn more, visit