Talking Up Music Education is a podcast from The NAMM Foundation about music education. Download and listen to episodes featuring GRAMMY-nominated and award-winning artists.
GRAMMY-Nominated and Award-Winning Artists
Wooten Woods: A Unique Blend of Nature and Music Education
As the youngest of five children, Victor Wooten’s musical family needed a bass player. The rest is history. In this episode, the 5-time GRAMMY award-winning musician talks about his Center for Music and Nature, dubbed “Wooten Woods,” a retreat center for musicians and students outside of Nashville, Tennessee and the journey that every person can take to make music – as natural as learning to speak.
“People want to express themselves. People want to feel something. You don't teach a kid how to paint by teaching them how to hold a brush. You let them paint. We don't celebrate the outcome; we celebrate their input.” - Victor Wooten
Rhythm and Storytelling with Percussionist Rich Redmond
Rich Redmond is a professional percussionist, music educator, and a motivational speaker. As a traveling musician, he has a versatility and wide range of accomplishments, including acting. He was in the drumline, and ended up getting his bachelor's degree in music education with percussion emphasis at Texas Tech. He’s now in Nashville, which he says is always about storytelling. We discuss his musical career, acting, and how there’s currently a new evolution of country music.
“I've been playing drums for 42 years. [In] 1976, I grew up in Milford, Connecticut, and I was hitting everything in sight, and my accountant dad and my nurse mother said, ‘You are a Type A restless kid, and we're going to get you to do something.’ So, they got me a blue sparkle snare drum, and I started taking lessons.” - Rich Redmond
Iconic Jazz Vocalists The Manhattan Transfer LIVE from Summer NAMM
Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul, and Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer share their musical origin stories, including the evolution of the iconic jazz vocal group. They explore the importance of vocal training as part of caring for your instrument, and the hard work that goes into maintaining a lifelong musical career.
“My father was a Dixieland-jazz clarinet player. At a very early age, music was in the house. They were rehearsing all the time, and it [was] just kind of osmosis. [The music] just went into my bones.” - Cheryl Bentyne
Catching Up with Grammy-nominated Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton, 2018 NAMM Foundation SupportMusic Champion Award recipient, gets real with host Mary Luehrsen about becoming a super star before she was ready; settling in to her freedom as a songwriter; parenting as a touring musician; and her philanthropic work with Nashville schools.
“My mom is a piano teacher. I mean, I just can't tell you how over the moon she is about teaching.” - Vanessa Carlton
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