The IBMA Foundation e-mailbox has been full during the past two months with reports from across the country and around the world.
Tennessee, Hancock County–
Junior Appalachian Musician director Juliet Gladson in Sneedville, TN, reports the Hancock JAM program had a successful spring 2025 session, ending the 12-week program with 40 children enrolled, ages 4-17. Ten students received full scholarships and five more had partial funding, funded in part by an IBMA Foundation project grant. All children who needed an instrument were loaned one at no charge, along with strings and accessories. Most children kept their instruments through the summer to continue practicing for the following fall semester. “We were also able to provide 10 JAM students with field trip money to attend a concert at the Laurel Theater in Knoxville, TN, featuring local artists and the Smoky Mountain JAM program on stage,” Gladson said. “Eight of our JAM students joined the group onstage. One young student sat in the front row with me at the concert and said, with a huge smile, ‘This is my first concert.’”
Tennessee, Smoky Mountain and North Knox County
“Thanks to the generous support of the IBMA Foundation, our JAM program was able to expand access to traditional music education and live performance experiences for youth in East Tennessee,” said JAM program director, Sarah Pirkle. An IBMA Foundation project grant helped fund bluegrass and storytelling presentations by Sparky and Rhonda Ricker and the Grassy Creek Bluegrass Band. Twelve students received full or partial scholarships last winter, two students were given scholarships to attend a summer bluegrass day camp, and seven students received fall semester scholarships. “We are deeply grateful to the IBMA Foundation for supporting our mission to preserve and pass on Appalachian musical traditions to the next generation,” Ms. Pirkle said. “Your investment in our students has made a lasting impact on their lives and on our community.”
RETURN to the November 2025 issue of The Cornerstone.
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