Click here to go to the top post.
It’s true that musicians practice and perform mostly inside. But that doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally throw on our leathers, jump on our Harleys, and feel the wind in our hair as we thunder off to the golf course (cue screeching tires sound).
We have two outdoor-themed fundraising events this year. In June, it’s the Joy of Music Ride and Poker Run. Join fellow Harley-Davidson enthusiasts at Two Doors Down in Maryville on Saturday, June 3 at 10 a.m. Bring $20 for yourself, $10 per passenger, and $10 per non-rider. Eat some BBQ, then follow the map to several area destinations. Pick up a playing card at each. At the end, there will be prizes for the best and worst hands. Proceeds benefit the Jeff Breazeale Foundation, which supports JoMS.
On October 2, break out the clubs and Swing for Joy at Gettysvue Polo and Golf Club. It’s $100 per player, with proceeds going to our music programs. Sponsorships are available!
Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!
Click here to go to the top post.
Wait– was that a concrete truck bearing the Joy of Music School logo you just saw driving past?
Your eyes do not deceive! That’s a Harrison Construction Co. truck driven by Arthur Paquin. Arthur is a longtime supporter of the School who asked his company to put our logo — along with a helpful “Please support” — on the side of his truck.
Harrison Construction starting adding logos for community service organizations to its trucks back in the 1980s, says Doug Brown, vice president of concrete operations. “Support your local law enforcement, the fire department, Mothers Against Drunk Driving….We started getting good feedback and we’ve done it ever since.”
Harrison Construction has a total of 75 trucks and around 50 of them have a charitable logo of some sort, Doug says.
Arthur’s truck is a 2016 Mack concrete truck with a 10-yard mixer. Arthur is based in Alcoa, but he covers upwards of 16 counties. That means he’ll be spreading our good message — and concrete, of course — throughout East Tennessee.
Many thanks to Arthur, Doug and Harrison Construction!
Click here to go to the top post.
Francis Graffeo and Renee Lauver
When a foundation affiliated with a Fortune 500 company says it’s supporting your work in the community, you know you must have done something right!
We got a surprise this summer when W.W. Grainger Inc.’s Knoxville Branch Manager Renee Lauver contacted our Executive Director Frank Graffeo asking for a tour and a visit with staff members.
Grainger, whose slogan is “For the ones who get it done,” distributes products to maintain, repair and operate industrial facilities. The Grainger Foundation, an independent, private foundation based in Lake Forest, Illinois, takes recommendations from W.W. Grainger managers and selects organizations for grants.
A few weeks later, we were thrilled when Renee dropped by and delivered a check for $5,000 to support repair and maintenance of our instruments. “We are proud to recommend the programs offered by the Joy of Music School,” Renee says. “We understand the need for music education and mentorship of deserving youth in the area.”
On top of all that, Renee says she and her local team are interested in volunteer projects and in helping with our building maintenance supplies. Seems like they really are “for the ones who get it done”!
Click here to go to the top post.
Applying for grants from charitable foundations is part of our regular routine here at the School. Sometimes we get the money we’re seeking and others we get a polite “not at this time.” Happily, this year has seen an upswing in gifts to JoMS from foundations. Peyton Manning’s PeyBack Foundation gave the most it has ever donated to us. Bonnaroo Works Fund matched its largest gift to us, which dates back to 2012. The Tennessee Arts Commission awarded us its largest sum in four years. We’ve also received new support from the Kinder Morgan Foundation. We are in the third year of an Arts Fund grant from the East Tennessee Foundation, the largest we’ve ever gotten from it. The Jeff Breazeale Foundation made a generous award described in these pages last year; it continues to support our work substantially.
We are always seeking new sources of foundation funding. To that end we are awaiting word from the CMA Foundation (the Country Music Association), and the Blackberry Farm Foundation. We hope to have more good news in the coming weeks from them. We are grateful to all the foundations that underwrite much of our volunteer teachers’ work with deserving children and teens. Thank you!
Click here to go to the top post.
Francis Graffeo, Executive Director
Our mission says we serve “at risk” youth. Kids with no supervision and no direction are at risk. Whether at home or on the streets, the enemies are inadequate nutrition (or its opposite, obesity), idle vandalism, unfettered internet access, defenselessness from intruders, gang influence and more. Those are risks that kids cannot handle on their own. They degrade a child’s character, work ethic and self-image, and bring communities down. It’s risky out there. So let’s protect youth from risk.
Risk is bad, right? Not all of it. Our children can benefit from risk-taking, but adults need to help. I’ve seen kids risk a great deal, putting a lot on the line and emerging better and stronger on the other end. I’m talking about positive risk-taking. In public. On display. With adult guidance. Learning a piece of music, grappling with an instrument, trudging to lessons, putting in the practice time, the repetition, the effort. That’s hard. But those are just the buildup to that perilous moment when the hall goes silent and it’s time to perform, scared or not. That kind of risk has little downside and an enormous upside. Talk about character, work ethic and self-image! When a child has put in the effort and can stand on a stage and do something that most of their friends (and most adults) cannot do, they gain a self-confidence that no one can defeat. And they get applause for it!
In a performance kids risk embarrassment, failure, perhaps social standing. If they fail, stop playing and slither off the stage, who is in the wings? A teacher. Their family. Their friends. All there to give support and encouragement for next time. If we’ve done it right, a kid risks disappointment … but not from others; rather, the enemy is disappointment in oneself. The child controls what’s coming out of that instrument. It’s ultimately up to one person. Face the risk and succeed! Defeat disappointment and celebrate!
What better way to develop a sense of self? Set goals. Self-monitor. Encounter risk. Music does that for kids. Kids do that with music. Encourage the risk. Watch the growth.
Francis Graffeo
Executive Director
Click here to go to the top post.
Click here to go to the top post.
The Joy of Music School’s Spring Recital has a new home. This year, all the fun and excitement take place at the Scottish Rite Temple, right across from the University of Tennessee campus at 612 16th Street.
Save the date: Saturday, May 7, from 2- 4 p.m. The Scottish Rite Temple is “a great venue,” says Julie Carter, the Joy of Music School’s Director of Music Education. “There’s a really big auditorium with plenty of seating for the audience, and there is lots of space on the floor and the stage for performances.”
Our annual recital is a truly special event. Roughly 65 of our students will climb up on that stage to show their families and friends what they’ve accomplished—musically and personally—this year. There will be singers, pianists, guitarists, drummers, and all manner of brass and string performances. There will be jangly nerves — and great big smiles of satisfaction and pride.
The event is free of charge for all. Be sure to stick around afterward for a warm and celebratory reception in the temple’s fellowship hall.
We are most grateful to the Scottish Rite Temple for letting us use their beautiful performance space, and to Knoxville’s HomeTrust Bank for sponsoring this important and fun event!
Francis Graffeo
Our volunteer teachers do the bulk of the weekly work here. Our staff also works hard, making sure everything is in place for the teachers and students. But there is another group of workers who don’t always get the spotlight—our board members. They do amazing and sometimes unexpected things to keep this organization operating at its best and growing for the future. A few examples: Professional writer and editor Pete Finch has been the anonymous editor of this newsletter for many years. Cindi Alpert donates air time and production work at her radio station. Susan Brackney gives hundreds of hours a year to our holiday fundraiser event. Many members are, or have been, volunteer teachers. We get legal advice from attorney Rick Carl. Mike Combs, founding board president, is a master organizer and motivator, giving countless hours to many initiatives. Tim Purcell connects us to the corporate world, and tackles problems with his ingenuity and hard work. Treasurer Lisa Price Scott, CPA, oversees our financial work. Bank president Trey Coleman helps with strategy and financial decision-making. These wonderful people, and many more unmentioned here, bind the School to the community. They strengthen existing bonds and reach out to form new ones. They conduct meetings, set policies, oversee, plan, protect, and care for the Joy of Music School. They attend recitals and applaud our kids like they would their own. They write checks. They find donated goods and services. They set an example and ask nothing in return. For all of that, they have our gratitude!
Sincerely,
Francis Graffeo
Executive Director
Knoxville’s HomeTrust Bank recently turned 90 and celebrated with a bustling party in its normally quiet, professional lobby. Joy of Music School Executive Director Frank Graffeo attended — and got to join a live WNML Sports Radio broadcast from the bank. Frank talked about his love of the Dallas Cowboys, and about the School, of course. The party also featured cornhole, drawings, prizes, pizza, cake, refreshments, and other things you might never expect in a bank lobby. HomeTrust Bank is the sponsor of the Joy of Music School Spring Recital (see article on page 1). Many thanks to JoMS board member and former volunteer guitar teacher Trey Coleman, president of the bank!
Click here go to to the top post.
Saturday, June 4, will be a special day for area motorcycle riders—and for the Joy of Music School. The Jeff Breazeale Foundation, honoring a lifelong musician who died last year, is holding a benefit “poker run” in Maryville. It’s donating the proceeds to our School. For more info, please visit http://www.twodoorsdownmaryville.com !
Here’s a cool gift for those hard-to-shop-for people in your life: a Tennessee specialty license plate. “Gift-a-Tag” vouchers are now available for $35. The recipient can pick his or her own plate and personalize it. A healthy portion of all specialty plate fees benefit the Tennessee Arts Commission, which issues grants supporting important organizations (including the Joy of Music School!) throughout the state.
Go to tnspecialtyplates.org to learn more and support the arts!
Get ready—it’s almost time for the Joy of Music School’s much-loved Holiday Sparkles & Spirits event. And this year, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of HS&S, we’re taking it to the next level, with a beautiful evening in the Cherokee Country Club’s main ballroom.
The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The evening will feature heart-warming performances by Joy of Music School students and a dazzling array of gift ideas in our live and silent auctions. Out-of-thisworld wines! Beautiful jewelry! A wild game dinner! An Italian dinner (see page 4 for more details)! A condo in Vail Valley!
Your ticket price of $100 includes delicious heavy hors d’oeuvres and wine and, of course, goes to support the Joy of Music School. Please fill out and mail in the form at the right or, if you prefer, simply call the School at 865-525-6806 to reserve your spot now!
Joy of Music School 