The National Music Council is celebrating its 83^rd Anniversary as a forum for the free discussion of this country’s national music affairs and challenges.  It was 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. Chartered by the 84^th Congress in 1956, 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.

The Council’s accomplishments have been varied and far‑reaching.  It fostered the first steps of a number of important U.S. music associations: the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Therapy, the National Opera Association, and Early Music America.  It has administered significant initiatives in music, such as the Composers in the Schools project, funded by the Ford Foundation in 1958, and the annual surveys of symphonic repertoire later compiled by BMI and the American Symphony Orchestra League.  It has assisted the Federal Government on matters pertaining to music, most notably in the formation of the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Exchange Program.

In 1968, the Council hosted the sixth International Music Congress in cooperation with the International Association of Music Libraries.  In 1976, it administered the Bicentennial Parade of American Music, which presented 52 state concerts in Washington, D.C., produced a radio series of local composers in each state, and placed 200 bronze plaques at sites where our musical history was made.  The NMC’s National Black Music Colloquium and Competition recognized and rewarded talented young black instrumentalists and encouraged the performance and composition of works by black American composers.  In 1988, it joined with High Fidelity magazine to present a symposium on “Music in America, 1988” at the MIDEM recording and video exposition in Cannes, France.

The Council took a leadership role in developing a strong, grassroots support effort for adoption and implementation of the arts education criteria, set forth in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act signed into law by President Clinton in April, 1994.  The Council continues its influence in this area today by working for the inclusion, support, and assessment of music and the arts as core component areas of study in the No Child Left Behind Act.

The Council has worked diligently to develop active grassroots support for the NEA, for stabilizing copyright registration fees for individual composers, writers, and artists, and for supporting legislation that protects the work of American creators.  In 1997, the Council initiated and facilitated an agreement between the American Federation of Musicians, American orchestras, and composers of contemporary orchestral works that would enable the composers to gain access to archival recordings of their work for study and promotional purposes. NMC continues to facilitate the processing of these tapes.

Since 1998, the National Music Council has been a co-sponsor of Arts Advocacy Day, an annual day of lobbying on Capitol Hill for public support of the arts.  NMC has also partnered with NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, and NAMM to lobby on Capitol Hill for support of music education.

From 2002 through 2004, the Council produced five half-hour television programs on music issues including intellectual property protection, career opportunities in the music industry, and music as a source of healing. The shows, along with NMC produced public service announcements for music education advocacy, aired on public access and cable television systems.

The Council brings its support of music education beyond national borders through its participation in the International Music Council. In addition to representing the United States at the IMC General Assembly, NMC led the planning committee for the 2005 World Forum on Music held in Los Angeles, and has provided support and leadership for subsequent World Music Forums held in China (2007), Tunisia (2009), and Estonia (2011).  The NMC and its member organizations have developed and provided materials for music education advocacy and arts curriculum standards in both Spanish and English for all nations in the IMC Tri-Americas Regional group. The Council also provided speakers and support for several IMC events throughout the world, including the Music on Troubled Soil conference held in Jerusalem.

Subjects presented at recent meetings include developing educational partnerships between arts organizations, educators, and the business community; the impact of music on cognitive development in children; issues surrounding the digital distribution of intellectual property; censorship and the arts; the increasing internationalization of music marketing; and problems facing the contemporary American composer. Proposed and pending Congressional legislation referring to music is discussed regularly, with joint opinions being forwarded to appropriate governmental agencies and officials.

Past NMC symposia include Songwriter Fair Trade, The Influence of American Music Abroad: Music as the Great Ambassador, The Artist as Citizen: The Role of the Performing Artist as Leader and Communicator of Human Values, and The Music Community and Our Nation’s Schools: Partnering to Support Comprehensive Music Education For All Children, featuring a blue ribbon panel on music education and advocacy.

Each year the Council presents the American Eagle Awards for distinguished service to American Music. Honorees have included Dizzy Gillespie, Morton Gould, Odetta, Dave Brubeck, Marian Anderson, Elliott Carter, Max Roach, Lena Horne, Roberta Peters, Betty Carter, Phil Ramone, Roy Clark, Clark Terry, Kris Kristofferson, Richie Havens, Leonard Slatkin, Hal David, Quincy Jones, Kenny Rogers, Chick Corea, Herby Hancock and Stephen Sondheim.

The Council has recently produced an Emmy Award winning copyright education public service announcement, primary school lesson plans, and innovative teaching tools to encourage respect for creators and their works in partnership with the Music Publishers’ Association of the United States. NMC co-sponsors an annual Copyright Awareness Student Video Competition that awards scholarships to three students who submit the best short video expressing the importance of respecting creator’s rights. NMC is an active member of the Music Education Roundtable and SupportMusic coalitions.

In 2020, the NMC was one of the sponsoring organizations for a coalition that commissioned the COVID-19 related Performing Arts Aerosol Study. The study’s goal was to develop an understanding of the risks that exist in performing arts classrooms and performance venues, and how they could best be mitigated. The study entered its final phase in 2021, and will have implications well into the future on how to mitigate risks for any airborne infectious illness in musical performance and rehearsal spaces.

In 2021, NMC presented an online symposium to mark the anniversary of the US COVID-19 shutdown. “Pandemic Reflections on the Future of Music: Education, Creation, Performance and Business” featured four panels of experts from different sectors of the music community discussing the challenges created by the pandemic, success stories, lessons learned, lasting changes, and preparedness for future disruptions.

In 2022, NMC organized an online symposium in collaboration with the International Music Council entitled “Protecting Free Speech in the Global Music Landscape” featuring panel discussions and interviews with international experts and activists on free speech issues.