Grammy Museum, Grammy U and Michelle Obama Partner for a Virtual Mentorship Monday Program
On Wednesday July 8, the Grammy Museum announced it would be partnering with Grammy U, a community of full time college students who are pursuing a career in the recording industry, and former first lady Michelle Obama, to launch a Virtual Mentorship Monday program.
Every Monday from July 20 to August 31, today’s top music industry professionals will be mentoring college students and recent graduates to provide valuable information that will forward their careers. Mentors onboard include Little Big Town, Sam Fischer, Tikyra “TK” Jackson, Ledisi, Melanie, Pfirrman, Sasha Sloan, Francisca Valenzuela and various Recording Academy members.
Grammy Museum President Michael Sticka released the following statement regarding the program. "The Grammy Museum's new Mentorship Monday program exemplifies the Museum's mission to uphold music's value in our lives through education and collaboration between professionals and aspiring creatives. I'd like to thank Reach Higher and GRAMMY U for helping make this program a reality."
The program is a part of Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, an effort to inspire American college students to complete their education beyond high school. Executive Director of Reach Higher, Eric Waldo, mirrored Sticka’s sentiment saying. "Reach Higher is excited to partner with the Grammy Museum to bring mentorship to students this summer. Music helps us hear each other more fully and to share ourselves with one another authentically. Now more than ever is a wonderful time for professionals and artists to harness the unifying and uplifting power of music to support students as they explore and pursue educational and career opportunities in all facets of the recording industry."
Sessions of the Mentorship Monday program are invitation only but spots will also be released via the Reach Higher Beating the Odds Summit, an event meant to support and encourage recent high school grads. The program will also be hosting sessions on Instagram Live that will be available to the public.
Mentorship Mondays is not the only resource the Grammy Museum will be offering to those aspiring to break into the music industry. Earlier this month it announced that it will release two Songwriters Hall of Fame programs from its archives. They are currently available on the Grammy Museum web site.
The programs showcase iconic and contemporary songwriters who share valuable tips about their crafts and collaborations. The programs include ‘Legends in the Round” originally recorded on Oct. 19, 2020 featuring moderator songwriter Paul Williams and panel guests Hal David, Lamont Dozier, Mac Davis, Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
The other showcase is ”Today’s Star-Making Hit Songwriters/Producers” recorded Oct. 18, 2017. This showcase was moderated by Variety magazine executive music editor Shirley Halperin and features hitmakers Davie Bassett, busbee, Warren “Oak” Felder and Teddy Geiger.
The coronavirus may have put a pause on the music industry in a lot of ways, but it is great that the Grammy Museum is offering these opportunities to aspiring students and songwriters while we wait for things to pick up again. Which of these programs interest you?
