Joy of Music School

Music Notes – Newsletter

Monthly Archives: November 2018


by Leave a comment

Come Get Your Sparkle On

Just like roasting chestnuts and Jack Frost nipping at your nose, it wouldn’t be the holidays in Knoxville without Holiday Sparkles & Spirits. Our 13th annual fundraiser is all set for Tuesday night, Dec. 4, at the Cherokee Country Club. Start time is 6:30 p.m. The ticket price: $125 per person.

We promise it’ll be the jolliest Tuesday night you can imagine. There’ll be heartwarming musical performances by our students, wine and delicious appetizers, and sensational holiday shopping. You’ll be able to choose from a vast assortment of gift ideas, from jewelry and wine (the “sparkles and spirits” that gave this event its name) to travel and sports memorabilia and much more.

We’ll see you there!

Act Now! Please call or email the School today to reserve your place! Phone: 865-525-6806.

Email: info@joyofmusicschool.org Want more details? You should have received an invitation by mail, but if you can’t find it, visit our website and click on the banner.

Click Here To Read The Newsletter From The Top


by Leave a comment

Recital News!

 

Our students are about to step up and dazzle a pair of Knoxville retirement communities, and you’re welcome to join in the excitement.

That’s right – it’s winter recital time! The first is 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Sherrill Hills (271 Moss Grove Boulevard). The second is 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Shannondale Retirement Center (801 Vanosdale Road).

These recitals usually last about an hour and feature 20 to 25 students performing on piano, violin, cello, woodwinds and more. We’d love to see you at either or both of these performances!

Click Here To Read The Newsletter From The Top


by Leave a comment

Playing Young James Agee

In March we got an unexpected and unusual request from Swiss documentary filmmaker Richard Dindo. He needed a small boy to appear in a documentary about author and Knoxville native James Agee. While filming in Knoxville, Dindo wanted to shoot scenes depicting the young Agee in a piano lesson. Frank Graffeo agreed to meet the filmmaker to discuss his proposal.

After getting all the details, Frank asked Julie Carter, our director of music education, to identify a boy based on Dindo’s request. Valentyn, a young JoMS piano student of volunteer teacher Mary Beckley, fit the bill perfectly.

Fast forward to September: Dindo was back in Knoxville filming on location with costumes, makeup, lights, cameras and … action! Valentyn played, literally, his part and had a successful day of shooting, just like a Hollywood star. The production company compensated his family, and now we simply await the premiere. Stay tuned!

Click Here To Read The Newsletter From The Top


by Leave a comment

A Letter From The Executive Director

Francis Graffeo

You might remember Highlights Magazine— monthly intellectual stimulation, fun, and guidance for kids. I especially remember the hand-drawn brothers facing a new moral or behavioral issue, each in his own way. Goofus and Gallant, back in the ’60s and ’70s—my Highlights prime—were by proxy helping parents with boys and our impulsive tendencies. There was no female counterpart. At the time, I assumed girls never needed it. I did. Not that I was a bad kid; I was a pretty good kid. But I thrived on the validation I got from knowing instantly that Goofus was getting it wrong, and that I was much more like Gallant—every time! Imagine that. Every time!

Looking back as an adult, a parent, and director of this youth-centered organization celebrating its 20th anniversary year, I realize the angle Highlights was taking. Despite the characters’ giveaway names, I nonetheless felt the embrace of self-approval as I chose the Gallant way, the right choice. These boys were modeling behavior.

Parents and school teachers know all about that. Our volunteers know it too. It’s not just modeling how to hold a violin bow, or breathing deeply before singing. It’s an adult giving his or her time to make the world better. It’s an adult mentoring a young person, and modeling excellent behavior, while also coaching young pianists, drummers and strummers. Teaching musical technique is one thing. It’s quite another to teach children something positive about themselves.

Francis Graffeo, Executive Director

Top


by Leave a comment

Hearing The Call

Tony Evans was at the School waiting for one of his daughters to finish her violin lesson when he heard a young boy playing a hymn on our lobby piano. Tony knew the hymn so he went over and sat down beside the boy, adding some chords on the lower end. They sounded good together! Turns out the boy, Josue, had been taking piano lessons at JoMS, but his teacher had recently quit. He was deeply upset about this.

Someone told Tony that Josue stood in our hallway and cried when he heard the news. “I just thought, ‘This is wrong for me not to teach him,’ Tony recalls. “He’s very good.” That was three years ago, and ever since, Josue and Tony have met Tuesday evenings for piano lessons. Tony describes their sessions as the highlight of his week. “I think I was directed to be there in the School that day,” he says. “I don’t think anything happens by accident.” He adds: “Josue has such a good attitude. And he’s got perfect pitch.”

Tony’s a Knoxville native and a longtime local musician. He played in a handful of garage bands in the 1970s and ‘80s, bashing away at the guitar with his long hair flowing behind him. These days Tony is a doctor of audiology and runs the AudioLife Hearing Center in Knoxville. His firm donated a set of high-end Unitron hearing aids to the silent auction at our Holiday Sparkles & Spirits fundraiser event (see page 1). What a great way to share the joy of music: helping someone hear it better.

Thanks Tony, for your generous donation and for your time with Josue!

Top


by Leave a comment

A Message To Parents

Hey parents of JoMS students! Just like you, we believe your children deserve the very best opportunities in music education. The staff here feeds on your kids’ enthusiasm and works hard to find ways to help them improve. A lot of times you’ll find us steering them toward auditions for orchestras, choirs, bands, camps, and even colleges.

We know it can be overwhelming and sometimes a bit scary for parents, siblings and other family members. But we have a message for you: We are with you all the way! We love finding people, foundations and companies that make it possible for your kids to attend camps and orchestras—absolutely free of charge, including travel.

We can help turn a mundane summer into an experience of a lifetime for your musical kids. And we regularly help kids and families through the rocky process of college applications. We love doing it—and we love the results! So, when opportunity knocks, feel that beat and go with it. You won’t regret it!

Top


by Leave a comment

Swing-A-Ding-Ding

Our second annual Swing for Joy fundraiser golf tournament was a smashing success. Held on a smoldering summer morning —Aug. 27, which happens to be the birthday of our founder, James A. Dick—it featured 61 participants and raised almost $5,000 for the School. “One of the real highlights was the turnout,” says Cindi Alpert, our board president and the organizer of Swing for Joy. “There were so many new faces this year. It was wonderful.” For that we can thank a solid marketing effort that included multiple advertising spots on Cindi’s radio stations, 106.1 the River and 104.9 Good Time Oldies.

One of the participants was Arthur Dick, son of James, who came all the way from North Carolina and played in the tournament. We were thrilled to welcome him. The winning team was Brad Hall, Jerry Glenn, Darryl Whitehead, and Chase Wilhite. Special shoutout to JoMS board member Damon Falconnier, who played golf for the first time that day and whose team was able to use some of his very good shots! Afterward we enjoyed a fun awards luncheon, with raffles and prizes and delicious food from Archer’s BBQ. We are most grateful to everyone involved and we look forward to seeing you next year at Swing for Joy III!

Top


by Leave a comment

Nothing Hum-Drum About This Drum

What does the Caribbean sound like? Imagine an island beach and then listen for music. Hear that? Yes, your brain just played the steel drum, or steel pan. That magical pinging, singing tone has arrived at the Joy of Music School, thanks to Randy Kerns, co-owner of Panyard, Inc., makers of musical steel pans and accessories. Randy, who serves on the UT School of Music Advisory Board, recently toured JoMS with Executive Director Frank Graffeo.

Randy brought a donation—a charming pink steel pan with a stand whose base is a pair of plastic “bare feet.” (They almost make you feel the sand between your toes.) Randy is a musician himself and hopes “to encourage the School to start a steel pan class.” He included a stack of brand new teaching and learning books, and CDs as well.

During the tour Randy mentioned he plays accordion with his family, usually around the holidays. “Maybe we could form the world’s first steel pan/accordion band,” Frank suggested. “We might have a recruiting challenge,” Randy answered, “but it’s worth a try!”

Top


by Leave a comment

The Intersection of Vision and Generosity

 

“On the road again,” sings Willie Nelson, “I just can’t wait to get on the road again!” No matter how captivating the traveling life may be, every road warrior eventually needs fuel, sustenance, and rest. Nobody meets those needs better than one of the Joy of Music School’s most faithful sustainers, Pilot Flying J. Pilot Flying J is partnering with the Haslam Family Foundation as Presenting Sponsors of our Holiday Sparkles & Spirits fundraiser again this year (see page 1).

Founder Jim Haslam’s company and his family’s foundation annually pair up to make sure our event is a success, but more important, they help assure our volunteers can solidly carry out our mission. The Foundation and corporate support are proof to us that Mr. Haslam’s vision is matched only by his generosity. Pilot Flying J stores (more than 750, serving 1.6 million daily guests) line the highways of the continent. So, next time you’re on the road again and you spot a Pilot Flying J, pump the brakes. Stop in for fuel, rest, and goodness. Reflect on how those good folks support the art and discipline of music for deserving kids here in East Tennessee. Then, hop back in your car, turn up the music, and ease on down the road.

Top


by Leave a comment

Q & A With Breyon Ewing

Breyon Ewing

 

Joy of Music School alumnus Breyon Ewing, who attended the University of Tennessee on a music scholarship, now works as a professional singer and music instructor—and that includes teaching piano with us! As the School celebrates its 20th anniversary, Breyon shared his thoughts on what JoMS has meant to him.

Q. What are your earliest memories of the School?

A. When I first got there, in 2006, I was 11. I was taking piano. I’d would come in and have lessons with Linda Wise. She was very nice. I’d see [Executive Director] Frank Graffeo. And [Director of Music] Julie Carter a whole bunch. I had no idea important she’d be, how integral she’d be to my growing up. I just thought I was taking lessons.

Q. Does anything you learned at the School – big or small – stand out as being most memorable?

A. I guess it was the first time that I ever bowed and accepted applause. [Laughs.] Before coming there I’d been in choirs, and sung solos with them, but you don’t bow after that. But in recitals, which I always loved to play in, they were like, “All right and now you bow,” and I was like, “Oh…cool. That’s… interesting!”

Q. Do you ever think about how your life would be different if you hadn’t found the School?

A. Oh yeah! I don’t even know which career path I’d be taking. In high school, I started taking voice lessons with [well-known tenor and UT associate professor] Andrew Skoog at the Joy of Music. And he was like, “You know, you could do this as a career…”

Q. Looking back, what do you know now that you wish you’d known as a Joy of Music School student?

A. When it comes to your voice and your art, you have to be diligent. That time you’re not practicing is not going to behoove you later.

Q. What’s it like to come back to the School as a teacher?

A. It’s so interesting. Sometimes it’s kind of surreal. I see pictures of myself as a younger person and … wow. They’ve done remodels and nice things to make it look even better, but it’s still the same place with the same people. Everybody’s working so hard and putting in all this effort, and I feel more a part of it now that I can contribute as a volunteer teacher.

Top


by Leave a comment

Search and Ye Shall Find Us

When you do a Google search and see those ads off to the side of your results page, there’s something more than meets the eye going on, and believe it or not, the Joy of Music School is in that realm. We have had a years-long relationship with a UT Business Analytics Prof. Julie Ferrara, who assigns her students to create and manage Google search-based ads for JoMS. This online visibility is made possible through an in-kind grant we get from Google for up to $10,000 value per month in Google Ads.

The result is, we get visibility when people type in terms that indicate they might be volunteer teacher material or might want to attend Holiday Sparkles & Spirits. This goes beyond the obvious person searching for volunteer opportunities or someone who types in “holiday charity benefi t parties in Knoxville.” The ads are based on words used in people’s searches. If someone local searches Google to buy or sell a guitar, for example, their search result might also get our ad on the side that says, “Teach Guitar to Disadvantaged Kids in Knoxville,” which clicks through to our site. Subtle, no?

The likelihood that our ad is at or near the top of the page depends on the amount we “bid” for those search terms. Fortunately, we don’t have to pay for the bid when our term is used to display an ad, because Google gives us an allowance to cover that expense. For-profi t companies pay lots of money for this kind of thing. But we get it for free thanks to Google, Julie Ferrara and her class, year after year.

Click Here To Go To Top Post


by Leave a comment

How You Can Help

• Do you seal and stripe parking lots? Ours could use some love.

• Invite friends to Holiday Sparkles & Spirits.

• Volunteer to teach! We always need teachers!

• Help us with replacing instrument cases on Indiegogo at “Cases4kidz”

• Follow us on Instagram at @joyofmusicschool

• Do you do harpsichords? Ours needs some expert maintenance.

• Be Like Susan Brackney…

 

Click here to go to the top post.