NATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL SET TO HONOR KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, CHARLEY PRIDE,
JIM & SHERMAN HALSEY, COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS AT 32nd
ANNUAL AMERICAN EAGLE AWARDS IN NASHVILLE
presentation to Nashville, Tennessee, for the very first time on July
11, 2015. The highly prestigious Eagle Awards are presented each year in
national celebration of an individual’s or an organization’s long term
contribution to America’s musical culture and heritage. This year, music
legends Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride and Jim Lauderdale will be
honored, along with music management icon Jim Halsey and country music
producer/director Sherman Halsey. A special award will be presented to
the Nashville Mayor’s Office, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and
Country Music Association & Country Music Foundation, for the
creation and support of the Music Makes Us arts education initiative.
Dr. David Sanders, director of the National Music Council, notes that
the individual recipients are being honored “not just for the
incredible gifts they have given generations of music lovers throughout
the world with their creative output, but also for their dedication to
encouraging young musicians and potential musicians through their great
support and commitment to music education.”
Past American Eagle Award recipients include Quincy Jones, Herbie
Hancock, Clive Davis, Van Cliburn, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy
Gillespie, Morton Gould, Dave Brubeck, Marian Anderson, Max Roach, Lena
Horne, Roy Clark, Elliott Carter, The Oak Ridge Boys, Roberta Peters,
Odetta, Leonard Slatkin, Stephen Sondheim, Sesame Street, Hard Rock Cafe
and VH1 Save the Music Foundation. This year’s event in Nashville will
mark the 32nd year of formal presentations of the Awards.
The event will also feature the New York Emmy award winning animation
created by the NMC and the Music Publishers Association of the United
States, as part of a primary school lesson plan that encourages kids to
think about the ramifications of taking other people’s creative works
without permission. Sanders frames the animated piece as “part of a
world-wide effort by creators to change the narrative in terms of
fostering an understanding that the online protection of creative works
enhances freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas, rather than
encroaching on them.“
The National Music Council is celebrating its 75th year as a forum
for the free discussion of this country’s national music affairs and
challenges. Founded in 1940 to act as a clearinghouse for the joint
opinion and decision of its members and to work to strengthen the
importance of music in our life and culture, the Council’s initial
membership of 13 has grown to almost 50 national music organizations,
encompassing every important form of professional and commercial musical
activity.
Through the cooperative work of its member organizations, the
National Music Council promotes and supports music and music education
as an integral part of the curricula in the schools of our nation, and
in the lives of its citizens. The Council provides for the exchange of
information and coordination of efforts among its member organizations
and speaks with one voice for the music community whenever an
authoritative expression of opinion is desirable.
Proceeds from the event support the Council’s music education
advocacy efforts. For ticket and sponsorship information, contact NMC
Director David Sanders at sandersd@mail.montclair.edu
Presentations and panel are both open to the public and admission to
the panel is free with a NAMM visitor’s day badge for $10. Proceeds from
the luncheon event will benefit the NAMC Music Education and Creator’s
Rights Advocacy Programs with tickets priced at $150. For more
information, visit www.musiccouncil.org.