W.O. Smith Music School, Nashville TN

Program Highlights: !History - William Oscar Smith shared his experiences as a faculty member at Tennessee State, member of the Nashville Symphony, and noted jazz bassist, with low-income kids, so that their lives could also be changed through music.!School - Now offers private, group, classroom, ensemble, and camp instruction to 650 students.!Connection with Collegiate Music - All of the teachers volunteer their time, and many are undergrad students at Vanderbilt and Belmont.

Bridging the Gap: Connecting

Collegiate Music Programs and Underprivileged Areas !Successful, Sustainable, Self-Sufficient

Non-Profit Music Schools are Connected to Collegiate Programs!

The “3S” Approach - Successful, Sustainable, and Self-Sufficient can be applied in a variety of formats to develop non-profit music schools in urban and rural areas across the United States. The key, is that such programs are not only beneficial for underprivileged students and their communities, but that they form a symbiotic relationship with local colleges. The teaching environment and perspective of both teachers and students changes, as both are able to explore the educational value of a varied approach.

A future project in Dallas, TX might begin as an after school class piano program in public schools, and over time, expand to include private and group lessons that are planned and taught by eager undergraduate and grad students who need to explore pedagogy beyond the university.

The case studies used in this project highlight various options for understanding the history, funding, community demographics, teachers, students, administrators, mission, and goals of non-profit music schools.

Pianos for People Nonprofit, St. Louis MO

Program Highlights: History - Started as a mission to repurpose old donated pianos, fix them up, and share them with people who couldn’t otherwise afford them.

School - Pianos for People has now expanded to include a school (see above) that offers free group and private lessons, as well as summer classes.

Connection with Collegiate Music - Some of its founders and faculty are current or former collegiate music faculty, and several college students volunteer to teach or perform for the students.