Trisha Yearwood
Singing the Praises of Music Education
The sense of excitement was palpable as St. Mary’s Elementary School in Cortland, New York, as students and teachers waited for a very special guest—Trisha Yearwood. The country music star came to the school of 227 students through Campbell’s Labels for Education program in conjunction with the Grammy Foundation, after parent Jessica Verfuss won the Labels for Education Star-Powered Music Day sweepstakes. Verfuss says she couldn’t believe it when she was first notified of the prize.
In addition to the assembly, where Yearwood performed two songs accompanied by guitarist, Juan Garcia, the school received 100,000 bonus points from Campbell’s to be used for musical instruments and art enrichment programs. On stage, Yearwood answered questions from students and spoke about the importance of the arts in education.
“You don’t necessarily have to end up singing for a living, but it gives children another outlet to discover something in themselves that they didn’t know they had,” she says. “I think music is as important in a school as math and English and science.” Yearwood says she first decided she wanted to sing for a living at age five. In fact, she says, “I wanted to be Cher.”
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