American folklore scholar and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Bill Ivey explores ideas for how to achieve meaning and purpose in life through art and music as American society moves away from work and wealth as a means to fulfillment.

2018 American Eagle Award honorees 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.

Professional vocalist and musician Thomas Claxton just might be the hardest working musician you haven't heard of... yet. With more than 300 performances per year, all over the U.S., Claxton performs original material as both a solo artist and with his band, "The Myth." He also can play more than 1,800 cover songs and was Rockwell UnScene Magazine's "Best Male Vocalist" in 2014 and 2015. Special thanks to Cole Clark USA for the guitars made available for the podcast.

Country music band Parmalee was raised on a diet of southern rock, country, and blues. They've played on country music’s biggest stages, landed on the top of Billboard’s Country chart, and have 30 million combined streams on Spotify. Special thanks to the CMA Foundation as well as Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and Cole Clark USA for the guitars made available for their performance on the podcast.

Mike DiCesare, co-founder and President of Jamboxx shares his commitment to making a product that allows everyone to play music, regardless of ability. The Jamboxx is an electronic, USB-powered, breath-controlled instrument styled after a harmonica that plays digital MIDI notes. Notes are played by sipping or puffing via the mouthpiece. Moving the mouthpiece left or right determines which note is played. https://www.jamboxx.com/our-instruments

Arabian Prince got his start in Compton where his mother was a piano teacher and his father was a radio talk show host. He developed an affinity for technology at a young age and began paying around with synthesizers, echo boxes, and computers to make new sounds. His career took off when he co-founded N.W.A. and he continues to write songs, produce, and DJ—in addition to his big philanthropic project, Open Labs.

Forte Tenors Josh Page, Alok Kumar, and Zach Page talk about finding their voices as young men; their musical influences; training like a tenor; performing in operas all over the world; and the role of social media for professional musicians.

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.

NAfME and The NAMM Foundation have worked together on music education advocacy initiatives for many years. In this episode of Talking Up Music Education, host Mary Luehrsen catches up with NAfME’s Mike Blakeslee and Denese Odegaard as they discuss the current landscape of music education—and how to effectively prepare music teachers to ask for support from their administration.

Partners and collaborators from AEP, NAESP and The NAMM Foundation get specific on how to create resources that are accessible and informative for decision-makers in education—and how to spread the message that arts and music are part of a well-rounded education that develops academic and emotional intelligence in children.