CMA Supports W.O. Smith School

The CMA Foundation is donating $50,000 to benefit summer music education programs for 170 low-income students at the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School. The donation is part of CMA’s Keep the Music Playing initiative, which supports music education on behalf of the hundreds of artists who perform for free during CMA Music Festival.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to bridge the school year by making music education available for these low-income children during the summer,” said Kitty Moon Emery, Chair of The CMA Foundation Board of Directors. “Supporting music education is an investment in the future of our city. Statistics demonstrate that students involved in arts programs have higher graduation rates and the benefits of music education translate to their other core curriculum.”

To date, CMA and The CMA Foundation have provided more than $6.1 million to support the initiative, purchasing more than 4,000 instruments for 80 Metro Nashville Public Schools and providing the tools and incentives to help keep students engaged in school. The figure also includes a $1 million endowment gift to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Words & Music” program, which assists language arts and music teachers with classroom instruction in the basics of songwriting.

For information about the school visit www.wosmith.org.