Texas Music Project Breathes Life Into Public Schools Statewide

Texas Music Project Breathes Life Into Public Schools Statewide

2006 Honorary Chair Jerry Jeff Walker Is Featured on Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) Vol. 3 CD

DALLAS, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- With music programs suffering throughout the state of Texas, the Texas Music Project is releasing Volume 3 of Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) in an effort to raise more funds for music education in public schools and create greater awareness about this increasing problem. Since its inception over two years ago, the Texas Music Project (TMP), an initiative of the non-profit Social Marketing Resource Center, has benefited a projected 700,000 primarily disadvantaged students in public schools. With the state's public school financial crisis and Texas ranking near the bottom among the 56 U.S. states and territories in per capita spending on music and the arts, the need for new funding sources such as TMP for music education is great.

"Music has always been important to my family," said honorary chair, Jerry Jeff Walker. "On this album, I sing a song written by my son and fellow musician, Django Walker. He is my personal proof that music education serves as a great foundation for developing good people."

The latest installment in the Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) series is a compilation of songs celebrating Texas. Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith and Robert Earl Keen, along with honorary chair Jerry Jeff Walker, lend their unique vocals to such indigenous songs as, "Texas," "Lone Star State of Mind," "Amarillo Highway" and "Texas On My Mind." The aforementioned artists join the esteemed ranks of Eric Clapton, Beyonce, Steve Miller, Flaco Jimenez, Lucinda Williams, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Clint Black, all of whom were featured on previous volumes of the Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) series. The CD is available for $14.95 at www.texasmusicproject.org , Borders, Brooks Mays Music Group locations and other music retailers.

"Music can be a powerful -- in some cases, the best -- vehicle for reaching, motivating and teaching any student," said Robert Floyd, executive director, Texas Music Educators Association. "Absolutely nothing reaches out to the human spirit, no matter in what country or society, like the power of music."

The art of creating music is not only great for expressing oneself, it can also aid in the development of academic skills. According to Neurological Research, studies show that students exposed to music-based lessons scored 100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Also, regional statistics show that Texas All-State music students consistently score more than 200 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than the state averages for their peers, further indicating a strong correlation between students excelling in music also excelling in all other academic areas.

"In a time when all we read about is the escalating number of high school drop outs, low graduation rates and high drug usage, the proven ability of music education to address these issues suggests we need to do everything we possibly can to make music a part of students' curriculum in Texas schools," said Bruce Orr, co-founder and president, TMP. "Our long-term initiative is just beginning, but evidence shows that our continued support for music education in our schools will enable Texas children to grow academically, socially and culturally."

The Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) Volume 3 compilation is also made possible by the support of community, arts and educational organizations such as the Texas Commission on the Arts, Texas Department of Transportation and The Paulos Foundation; and through the generosity of corporate partners like Southwest Airlines, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center and Brook Mays Music Group.

About Texas Music Project

The Texas Music Project (TMP) is a statewide initiative founded by the 501(c)(3) Social Marketing Resource Center with a mission of restoring and strengthening music education in Texas schools. TMP grants are distributed to public schools K-12 primarily through the Texas Commission on the Arts, and awarded based on need. Applications for grants can be submitted online at www.texasmusicproject.org or www.arts.state.tx.us at anytime. It is the intention of the Texas Music Project that grants be used to support the implementation of full-time, rigorous music education curricula. For more information on Texas Music Project or to make a contribution, visit www.texasmusicproject.org .

Don't Mess With Texas Music(TM) Volume Three
Artists/Songs

Lee Roy Parnell (with Delbert McClinton), South by Southwest

Dale Watson, Way Down Texas Way

Nina Pearson & Nathan Larsen, The Bluest Eyes In Texas

Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, Laredo

Chris Rea, Texas

Toni Price, Rusty Old Red River

Junior Brown, Long Walk Back to San Antone

Steve Earle, Home to Houston

Jerry Jeff Walker, Texas On My Mind

Patricia Vonne, Joe's Gone Ridin

Texas Gypsies, Texas Gypsy Theme

Willie Nelson, Texas

Robert Earl Keen, Amarillo Highway

Johnny Copeland, Houston

Shelley King, Texas Blue Moon

James McMurtry, Levelland

Nanci Griffith, Lone Star State of Mind

Caroline Herring, Texas Two Step

Jimmy LaFave, Austin After Midnight

Renee Austin, Little Bit A Texas

"Don't Mess with Texas" is a trademark of the Texas Department of

Transportation used under license. TxDOT and the Texas Music Project thank

you for not littering.

Source: Texas Music Project

CONTACT: Christine Finnegan of The Powell Group, +1-972-312-1203, or
cf@powellgroup.net , for Texas Music Project

Web site: http://www.texasmusicproject.org/
http://www.arts.state.tx.us/

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