The University of Tennessee at Martin Department of Music is partnering with the Tennessee Music Education Association and the Country Music Association to broadcast “Keeping the Beat,” an interactive, educational livestream series created to engage students and artists during the COVID-19 crisis. “Keeping the Beat” will premiere at 8 p.m., Monday, March 30, and will air Mondays-Thursdays on the UTM Music Facebook page as well as the “Keeping the Beat” YouTube channel.

“Keeping the Beat” is an expansion of the current Department of Music program “Corona Connection,” but will be hosted by Tennessee Music Education Association with the support of UTM Music.

Nightly guest artists will lead interactive discussions about topics in music ranging from education and performance to administration and advocacy.

“I hope this is a way to connect music professionals whose gigs have been canceled and are at home with so much to give, with students and educators whose schools have shut down and are home and hungry for quality educational resources and live time engagement and inspiration with artists,” said Dr. Julie Hill, chair of the music department. “The world has never been so small and big all at the same time and the opportunities to connect these two groups together have no borders nor boundaries.”

The focus of this series is to teach K-12 and university music students and educators, not to host live-streamed performances by individual artists.

“The overall purpose is to teach, inspire, and challenge viewers with a task or project, as right now, many at home have unexpected extra time on their hands when their regular schedules would not allow space and time to create such things,” said Hill.

The first week’s line up is as follows:
<ul>
 	<li>March 30: Michael Holland; “From the Trenches: The Practice of Teaching Music”</li>
 	<li>March 31: Raffaele Ponti; “Professional Surfing as a Music Director”</li>
 	<li>April 1: Joshua Simonds; “Pursuing a Career in Arts Management”</li>
 	<li>April 2: Daniel Vargason; “Tax Implications for Musicians”</li>
</ul>
The series will be funded by the Country Music Association Foundation and Shelby County schools, while the Tennessee Music Education Association and the UT Martin Department of Music are contributing additional staff time.

To tune into “Keeping the Beat,” visit the UTM Music Facebook page. For more information, contact Hill at jhill@utm.edu or 731-881-7418.