Sara Evans Joins Celebration of Keep the Music Playing, Luke Bryan Hosts All Stars Concert on Feb. 1

RCA Nashville recording artist Sara Evans visited Pearl-Cohn High School choir students and gave them tips on their upcoming performance during the Feb. 1, "Keep the Music Playing" All-Stars Concert presented by SunTrust Banks.
Photo: John Russell / CMA

By Bob Doerschuk
© 2011 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures had forced Metro Nashville Public Schools to shut down one morning in January. But that wasn’t enough to keep Sara Evans and eight talented members of the Pearl–Cohn High School choir away from their practice room for a memorable meeting of voices, made possible in large part by CMA’s Keep the Music Playing (KTMP) program, benefiting music education in public schools.
Evans had agreed to meet these juniors and seniors to offer advice in advance of their participation in the Keep the Music Playing All-Stars Concert presented by SunTrust Bank and scheduled for Feb. 1 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. What she didn’t expect was how the students would show their appreciation for her visit.
With the school’s Music Director Llewellyn Peter leading and playing accompaniment at the Baldwin grand piano, they performed César Franck’s “Panis Angelicus,” singing the Latin text with delicacy, finesse and subtle dynamic shadings. This they followed with a robust gospel rendering of Ricky Dillard’s “Oh How Precious,” ignited by DeOndrea Foster’s lead vocal. Her astonishing performance, buoyed by the choir’s call-and-response backing, hypnotic swaying and occasional spontaneous shouts, left Evans in tears at the end.
“I honestly didn’t know what I was walking into exactly, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of my whole entire career,” Evans said. “These kids were so amazing and they were such an inspiration to me. I wanted to come in and talk to them about pursuing music or not giving up on a dream, and when I came in and they started singing I was just kind of overwhelmed with emotion.”
Their performance also testified to the opportunities made possible in part by CMA’s donation of more than $4.7 million to MNPS for music education.
Standing afterwards next to the piano, Peter put it simply. “This instrument makes me feel better when I play,” he insisted. “It propels me to teach the kids better. It propels me to be a better musician. It propels me to give my best to the students.”
It is also just one of more than 4,000 instruments being used now in nearly 70 MNPS, provided through KTMP. Performances such as this have persuaded Evans and other artists and celebrities who perform free each year at CMA Music Festival, which allows half the Festival’s net profits be donated to support music education, that their contribution of time and talent has not gone unnoticed.
“When I’m going to perform this year, it’s going to give me so much more joy,” she reflected. “I’m going to go out there with a happy heart, knowing that somebody might benefit from it in this way.”
Capitol Records Nashville artist Luke Bryan will host the Keep the Music Playing All Stars Concert on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Downtown Nashville. The Nashville Alliance for Public Education, along with CMA and the Nashville Symphony will host the concert which is presented by SunTrust Bank.

Bryan will host the event and perform with Nashville School of the Arts guitar student Sam Hunter.

“Music education in Nashville is important to us,” said Bryan, who serves on CMA’s Artist Relations Committee. “Each one of us was inspired by someone who took an interest in our own desire to play music and who gave us their support. I’m looking forward to spending time with some of the students and seeing firsthand their passion for music. All it takes is opportunity – and the right tools – to help them reach their goals.”

The All Stars Concert will feature a variety of musical styles from the most promising arts programs in Metro Nashville’s 139 elementary, middle, and high schools. Performers include the Croft Middle School Orchestra, Dupont Tyler Middle School Advanced Band, Jones Paideia Elementary Super Stars, Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet Orchestra, Nashville School of the Arts Jazz Band, the Pearl-Cohn High School Choir, and a special lobby performance by Mount View Elementary School Renaissance performers.

The Nashville Alliance has partnered with CMA’s Keep the Music Playing program since 2006 and has provided more than 4,000 musical instruments and music labs for nearly 70 Metro public schools. To date, the program has raised more than $4.7 million from the proceeds of the annual CMA Music Festival to purchase much-needed musical instruments and equipment. In 2010, CMA donated more than $1.4 million to the effort, which includes a $1 million endowment ($200,000 annual contribution) of 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.
The Keep the Music Playing All Stars concert is free to students’ families and schools through the generous support of SunTrust Bank. Free tickets are available to students, family members and CMA members at the CMA office at One Music Circle South, Nashville, TN 37203.
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