ABINGDON, Va.- The D'Addario Foundation announced that The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail will receive a $2,000 grant to support traditional music education in Southwest Virginia.
TCR's Traditional Music Education Program Phase 2, builds upon findings from the program rollout-generating more after-school programs, school assembly programs, and performance opportunities for the region's youth while strengthening the educational foundation through curricular material distribution, teacher training workshops and a teacher re-certification course serving a 19-county region of rural Southwest Virginia. The grant will assist with instructor contracts for four new after-school Crooked Road/JAM traditional music programs: FloydJAMS, WiseJAMS – Coeburn/St. Paul, WiseJAMS – Big Stone Gap/Appalachia , and Dickenson County JAMS.
"This award strengthens The Crooked Road's work in place-based education by creating opportunities to serve the region's youth through our traditional music," said Jonathan Romeo, Project Manager. "TCR's Traditional Music Education Program promotes learning that is rooted in what is local-the unique music, history and culture of Southwest Virginia."
The D'Addario Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to inspiring and assisting the growth and appreciation of music throughout the world by partnering with passionate music educators. Through the generous support of D'Addario and Company, the D'Addario Foundation awards grants and product donations to educational programs that offer sustained opportunities for active participation in music making in under-served communities. D'Addario is not only deeply committed to music education but to the belief that mentoring and building communities through music can positively affect social change. For more information on the D'Addario Foundation, visit the foundation's website at www.daddariofoundation.org .
The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, was founded in 2004 for the purpose of generating tourism and economic development in the 19-county, four-city, region of Southwest Virginia. "The Road", as designated by the General Assembly, is a 333-mile linear trail with unique destinations alongside highways and backcountry roads from the town of Rocky Mount to Breaks Interstate Park connecting communities of musicians and major performance venues through heritage music has been passed down in communities and families for generations. For more information about The Crooked Road, visitwww.thecrookedroad.org .
