CMA Donates $1 Million Plus For Music Education

The CMA is donating $1,066,632 in proceeds from the 2009 CMA Music Festival to Nashville public schools music education programs, as part of the “Keep the Music Playing” campaign. The announcement came during a special concert event last night (12/8) at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center to reveal the “Keep the Music Playing All-Stars,” representing the best elementary, middle, and high school performance groups selected from 137 Metro Nashville Public Schools.

To date, CMA has now donated $3,312,053 in support of music education in public schools. This money has been used to build music labs and purchase more than 2,500 instruments, and much needed supplies in Metro Nashville Public Schools through a partnership with the Nashville Alliance for Public Education.

The total also includes an endowment gift for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Words and Music” program, which assists language arts and music teachers with classroom instruction in the basics of songwriting. The amount also includes a donation in July to cover travel costs for 40 students from W.O. Smith/Nashville Community School of Music to attend a Country-themed music event at the White House, hosted by President Obama and the First Lady.