The Songbirds Foundation is excited to announce a new partnership with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Music Therapy Department.
Starting this fall, the Foundation’s music instructors will teach all of UTC’s Music Therapy undergraduate students how to play the guitar. The Foundation will provide beginner and intermediate guitar classes at the Songbirds Guitar Museum and on UTC’s campus.
Learning the guitar is an essential skill for music therapists and the guitar’s portability and popularity make it the go-to music therapy tool. Since 2016, Songbirds Foundation has been providing music therapy across Chattanooga at organizations like Siskin Children’s Institute and Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.
“We have seen the impact guitars and therapists can have on kids,” says Reed Caldwell, Songbirds Foundation Executive Director, “and we are so excited to help UTC teach the next cadre of therapists who will make a musical difference across the region.”
“The partnership with the Songbirds Foundation will be providing the UTC music therapy students crucial knowledge and skills related to guitar, that will boost the development of strong musicianship and the efficacy of their work as a future board-certified music therapist,” says Katherine Goforth Elverd, UTC Director of Music Therapy.
Over the past three years, the Songbirds Foundation has provided free music lessons, instruments, and music therapy to thousands of youth across the state of Tennessee and North Georgia. It serves over 45 schools, 14 partner organizations, and 2,500 students— with over 1,250 guitars distributed across classrooms throughout the state.
For every $100 raised, the Foundation can provide a kid a guitar and 12 weeks of free lessons. To donate please visit www.songbirdsfoundation.org/give.
About Songbirds Foundation
The Songbirds Foundation shares the transformative experience of music across Tennessee by delivering educational programming, preserving music history, hosting enriching events, and providing concrete resources to emerging artists.
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