National Music Council Announces Special Award To Nashville Mayor’s Office, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Country Music Association & CMA Foundation for Music Makes Us Initiative

New York, New York – The National Music Council will continue its 75th Anniversary Celebrations by bringing its Annual American Eagle Awards presentation to Nashville, Tennessee, for the very first time on July 11, 2015.  A special award will be presented to the Nashville Mayor’s Office, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Country Music Association & CMA Foundation, for the creation and support of the Music Makes Us arts education initiative.

A joint effort of Metro Nashville Public Schools, Mayor Karl Dean and music industry and community leaders, the Music Makes Us® initiative is being recognized as a national model for music education. With a focus on music literacy and student participation, and generous funding from the Country Music Association and CMA Foundation, Music Makes Us has strengthened Nashville’s traditional school music programs while adding a contemporary curriculum that embraces new technologies and reflects a diverse musical landscape.
 
The vision of Music Makes Us is for all Kindergarten through Grade 12 students in MNPS to have access to high quality traditional and/or contemporary music instruction that is standards-based and sequential, taught by highly qualified music educators and enhanced by a network of music professionals, music industry and community based organizations from the Nashville community and beyond.

The highly prestigious Eagle Awards are presented each year in national celebration of an individual’s or an organization’s long term contribution to America’s musical culture and heritage.  This year, music legends Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride and Jim Lauderdale will be honored, along with music management icon Jim Halsey and country music producer/director Sherman Halsey.

Dr. David Sanders, director of the National Music Council, notes that the individual recipients are being honored “not just for the incredible gifts they have given generations of music lovers throughout the world with their creative output, but also for their dedication to encouraging young musicians and potential musicians through their great support and commitment to music education.”

Past American Eagle Award recipients include Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Clive Davis, Van Cliburn, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Morton Gould, Dave Brubeck, Marian Anderson, Max Roach, Lena Horne, Roy Clark, Elliott Carter, Roberta Peters, Odetta, Leonard Slatkin, Stephen Sondheim, Sesame Street, Hard Rock Cafe and VH1 Save the Music Foundation.  This year’s event in Nashville will mark the 32nd year of formal presentations of the Awards.

The event will also feature the New York Emmy award winning animation created by the NMC and the Music Publishers Association of the United States, as part of a primary school lesson plan that encourages kids to think about the ramifications of taking other people’s creative works without permission. Sanders frames the animated piece as “part of a world-wide effort by creators to change the narrative in terms of fostering an understanding that the online protection of creative works enhances freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas, rather than encroaching on them.“

The National Music Council is celebrating its 75th year as a forum for the free discussion of this country’s national music affairs and challenges. Founded in 1940 to act as a clearinghouse for the joint opinion and decision of its members and to work to strengthen the importance of music in our life and culture, the Council’s initial membership of 13 has grown to almost 50 national music organizations, encompassing every important form of professional and commercial musical activity.

Through the cooperative work of its member organizations, the National Music Council promotes and supports music and music education as an integral part of the curricula in the schools of our nation, and in the lives of its citizens. The Council provides for the exchange of information and coordination of efforts among its member organizations and speaks with one voice for the music community whenever an authoritative expression of opinion is desirable.

Proceeds from the event support the Council’s music education advocacy efforts. For ticket and sponsorship information contact: NMC Director David Sanders at sandersd@mail.montclair.edu