Statements
Mission
Vision: Music City Youth in the Arts exists to positively transform young people's lives.
Mission: Music City Youth in the Arts provides accessible and experiential education in music and visual performance arts to young people through programming emphasizing camaraderie, well-being, and leadership development.
Background
A group of music educators and enthusiasts formed the nonprofit Music City Youth in the Arts in 2008 with the goal of establishing a competitive drum and bugle corps in Nashville, Tennessee with plans to launch additional programs later to include a variety of clinics and performance ensembles for youth in music, dance and the marching arts.
A drum and bugle corps is a musical marching ensemble consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Each corps is limited to 165 members, none of whom may be older than 22. There are approximately 50 similar organizations in North America that perform at Drum Corps International sanctioned events. Each corps spends months preparing and refining an 8-12 minute production, performed on a football field, showcasing musical and visual interpretations surrounding a theme. Competitive performances take place during a summer tour that includes more than 100 live events and collectively draws more than 400,000 attendees, culminating with performances at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis.
Music City Drum Corps launched its inaugural 2009 season with 47 members and a limited rehearsal and touring schedule. In 2018, Music City earned World Class division status within DCI and now competes at the highest level of the activity nationally. The organization relies on a part-time staff of nearly 80 band directors, professional musicians, dance teachers, athletic trainers, and other educators to provide comprehensive instruction in every facet of the activity to the student members. Volunteers, including professionals and parents, provide administrative, management, and logistical tasks. The experience for members is residential and comprehensive. Monthly, multi-night weekend audition and rehearsal camps are held from December through May with students learning, working, eating and sleeping on-site, typically at an area high school. Corps members move-in for training camp in early June, again typically at an area high school. Then the group embarks on a six-week, 6,000+ mile national performance tour.
Impact
The operation of Music City Youth in the Arts, Inc. (MCYA) positively impacts the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities in a number of meaningful ways: More than 400 students from Nashville, surrounding counties, and across the country receive instruction during audition camps in the winter and early spring. The number of teaching, rehearsal and performance hours received by the participants far exceeds that required for an undergraduate course. The students who participate with the corps eagerly embrace this pace and intensity of instruction and take pride in surpassing expectations and building enhanced skills. Participation in drum corps is known to make a dramatically positive difference in the lives of young people. In addition to applied musical and performance competencies, members gain character development; improved self-confidence and self-esteem; learn the value of teamwork; learn the value of commitment to purpose; learn the value of responsibility, integrity, sacrifice and excellence; meet and work with people from diverse backgrounds and origins; and make new, lifelong friends.
In August 2023, Music City Drum Corps received its highest championship week score in history while equaling the best placement during the semi-final's competition. The corps has been recognized as a true up and coming ensemble among its peer organizations.
The instructional staff for Music City includes some of the most talented and well-respected professionals nationally for this activity. Most have specialized degrees and significant experience as teachers working with high school and college students. The staff ensures students reach their maximum potential and high levels of proficiency in instrumental music, marching technique and drill, dance, choreography and the use of color guard equipment. Instruction within the drum corps is concentrated and practically continuous, except during performances, travel time, mealtime, and sleep.
Music City Drum Corps, (MCYA's premier performance ensemble) enriches the lives of people in the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities through a series of performances, including many that are free to the public. These include camp concerts at the conclusion of each monthly camp, community performances in downtown Nashville and at an area high school. Additionally, all corps rehearsals during the summer training camp and tour are open to the public. The corps is the home corps at DCI's annual "Masters of the Summer Music Games," a nationally featured event held at Middle Tennessee State University's Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee each July.
The young performers in the corps carry the name Music City every step of the way throughout a summer tour across the country. It is broadcast at every show, on the trucks and buses rolling every mile and proudly displayed on the corps member's jackets. Whether it is participating in small town parades, performing at a community exhibition, or competing at the highest level in stadiums in front of tens of thousands, the Music City Drum Corps serves as a goodwill ambassador for Nashville and Tennessee, projecting musical excellence and friendly people.
Needs
1. Grants, sponsorships and donations to support MCYA's scholarship fund, which is directly offered to participants/families in financial need. MCYA's goal is to provide an open and accessible environment to all willing and interested participants. Providing scholarships also helps increase participation for students from underserved communities.
2. Financial sponsorships, through grants or monetary donations, to help offset operating expenses such as: transportation costs (incl four chartered motor coaches, two semi tractors, and fuel), instructional & support staff (contract arrangers, designers, teachers, medical and athletic trainers), meals (MCYA plans, prepares and serves over 60,000 meals for approximately 200 people during the 11 week in-residency camp / tour season), housing (participants are in-residency for 4-5 weeks learning and polishing the annual production prior to leaving for tour)
CEO Statement
Music City Youth in the Arts provides a life-changing experience for the student musicians who participate in Music City Drum Corps. The program allows talented young people, with all levels of skills and ability, between the ages of 14 and 21 to perfect their musical abilities while honing life skills that will carry them to success as adults. The corps provides the participants an opportunity to lift their music skills to new levels as they play with other exceptionally talented student musicians. Hundreds of talented students from universities and highs schools across the United States audition each year for a coveted spot in the corps. The challenges we face to sustain Music City Youth in the Arts are substantial. Participants selected to join the corps sometimes find that they are unable to pay the fees required to support the show production and touring costs, occasionally preventing them from joining the corps. The housing, food, music production, and transportation costs for the summer long activity continue to climb. To keep the corps operational, we need assistance from sponsors, grantors, and donors. Music City parents and volunteers donate thousands of hours to maintain uniforms, instruments, and equipment; prepare four meals/snacks each day during camps and tours; and provide instruction to the corps members. Our instructional staff, all of whom believe in the merits of drum corps participation, provide their services for very low compensation. We seek to provide talented youth with a venue to succeed and grow their love of the marching arts. Music City Youth in the Arts plan to continue to provide that opportunity with help from generous benefactors who share that goal.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development Programs |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Bands & Ensembles |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Student participants in Music City Drum Corps and other Music City Youth in the Arts, Inc. hosted events, clinics and camps come from across Middle Tennessee, surrounding states, and from as far as Puerto Rico, Canada and Japan.
| TN |
| National |
