‘Right-Sized’ Instruments Provided to New Music Students
The Southern Highland Music Foundation (SHMF) has received an $850.00 grant from The Georgia Music Foundation to provide ‘right-sized’ acoustic instruments for local music students. SHMF is using the grant proceeds to purchase instruments for students at Blue Ridge Music in Clayton, GA.
Tom Nixon, Chief Executive Officer of SHMF, said, “Right-sized instruments are generally three-quarter sized models that are easier for younger students to hold properly. Working with a right-sized instrument makes it easier for young students to practice, play and create music. We find that by matching students with instruments that are easy and comfortable to hold helps them make rapid progress.”
In addition to purchasing the right-sized instruments, SHMF is supporting their use through a free instrument lending program at Blue Ridge Music. “Allowing very new students to borrow the right-sized instrument at no cost lets them try them out and decide whether that instrument is right or them or if their interests lie in a different area,” Nixon said. “Children often change their minds. Our free, right-sized instrument lending program eliminates any guilt or ‘buyer’s remorse’ attached to the purchase of an instrument.”
So far, four new students are using the ‘right-sized’ instruments for practice and learning at Blue Ridge Music.
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Grants and Donations Support Local Student Musicians
The Southern Highland Music Foundation (SHMF), headquartered in Clayton, GA, has received a number of new grants and donations to provide quality music instruction to students in Northeast Georgia and Southwest North Carolina during 2025.
Among the funds received is a $1,000.00 grant from the Lake Rabun Fund at the North Georgia Community Foundation. An additional $1,000.00 donation was received from the Colquitt Foundation given in honor of the employees of ‘The Swag’ and ‘Cataloochee Ranch’ hotels near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Finally, a grant of $850.00 was received from the Georgia Music Foundation to support SHMF’s Homeschool Arts program. All monies received will be used to either provide financial assistance to students who cannot afford music education or to purchase acoustic instruments for students to use in the SHMF Homeschool Arts program.
SHMF CEO, Tom Nixon, said, “These grants and donations directly support the music education programs SHMF coordinates for students through the Blue Ridge Music Academy in Clayton. The SHMF Homeschool Arts project is a new program dedicated to providing quality music instruction to Homeschooled children in the North East Georgia and Southwest North Carolina region.”
“Homeschooled children do not have access to the basic music instruction offered in the public schools,” Nixon said, “and virtual music instruction on the internet can’t come close to the quality of instruction received when students learn on real instruments in the company of other students.”
“But homeschoolers do have a significant advantage,” Nixon added, “they have a more flexible schedule that allows them to take lessons weekday mornings and early afternoons. Homeschoolers who take advantage of morning and early afternoon teaching slots qualify for discounted instruction rates,” he said.
About SHMF:
The Southern Highland Music Foundation (www.Southernhighlandmusicfoundation.com) is a 501C3 non-profit organization supporting the Blue Ridge Music Academy in Clayton, GA. SHMF is dedicated to helping people of all ages learn traditional and contemporary music through a program of personal encouragement, demonstration and hands-on instrument instruction. SHMF is headquartered in Clayton, GA and serves the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.
For more information, contact Tom Nixon at (706) 490-0539 or via email at CEO@Southernhighlandmusicfoundation.com
SHMF Recieves Two Grants
To Support Music Instruction
In Rabun County Schools
The Southern Highland Music Foundation (SHMF) has received two important grants to provide supplemental music instruction for students enrolled in Rabun County public schools through 2024.
The first award for $1,000.00 is from The Lake Rabun Fund at the North Georgia Community Foundation. The funds will be used to provide in-class music instruction for Rabun County Middle School and High School Students. The second award, from the Georgia Council for the Arts, is an $8,000.00 Arts Education Program grant to support SHMF’s High Performance ’24! music education and professional recording program.
Tom Nixon, Chief Executive Officer of SHMF, said, “The recent grants from The Lake Rabun Fund at the North Georgia Community Foundation and the Georgia Council for the Arts, make it possible for the Southern Highland Music Foundation to accomplish its mission. These much-needed funds are providing new and exciting musical experiences for Rabun County Middle and High School students.”
High Performance ’24!, is a new component to Rabun County’s Middle School and High School general music classes. Designed as an introduction to professional and practical music performance and recording techniques,’ the new program includes in-class music instruction for instrumental and voice training and opportunities for students to learn audio recording and engineering techniques in a recording studio on the high school campus. The program will also include after-class and off-site performance opportunities.
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