A CMS music teacher will get to meet Barry Manilow — and receive $5,000, too.
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Legendary singer Barry Manilow is returning to Charlotte for the first time in seven years to perform and provide support for CMS music students.
The Manilow Music Project is giving away a $10,000 prize to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools high school music teacher. The prize will include $5,000 for the teacher, and another $5,000 grant to be used for classroom instruments.
One of 10 CMS teacher nominees, if selected as the winner, will also receive VIP tickets to Manilow’s show on Jan. 21 at the Spectrum Center, where he will present the award at a special backstage meet and greet.
Manilow, a Grammy, Tony and Emmy award-winning artist who has sold more than 85 million albums worldwide, said he started The Manilow Music Project 15 years ago when one of his neighbors was raising money for a saxophone for his daughter.
“She wanted to learn how to play the saxophone, but her school didn’t have one,” Manilow said, adding that many schools reduce funding for music programs when they make budget cuts. “When I looked it up, I saw that schools around the country are running out of instruments because the music department is the first to go.”
Since then, Manilow has made it his mission to promote and raise money for music education, he said. To date, The Manilow Music project has donated more than $10 million in instruments and scholarships for students, according to the charity’s website.
But music classes are more than just learning how to play an instrument, Manilow said.
“It’s a second family for them,” he added. “These kids rely on music classes for more than just music. What I’ve heard is that if schools cut their music departments, these kids stop going to school. That’s how important it is.”
Manilow credits his high school orchestra class, where he went from being “a geek to musician,” for his half-century-long music career. But Manilow said he struggled to find a calling before getting into music.
“I was a musical kid, and my family knew I was a musical kid,” Manilow said. “Coming from nowhere Brooklyn, New York, nobody knew what to do with me. Nobody in my neighborhood ever had a career in music. But my career chose me.”
After receiving an accordion -- a rite of passage for all Jewish Italian kids in his neighborhood -- Manilow knew he was destined to become a musician, he joked.
“I started to write songs, then I formed a band, then it just kept going,” said Manilow. “One thing followed another with demos and commercials, and it just took off.”
During his interactions with aspiring young musicians, Manilow’s advice to them is to learn to read music because it can open the door to many career opportunities outside of performing on stage.
He also called music a “difficult profession,” but said that shouldn’t stop kids from pursuing their dreams.
“I think if a young person really believes in themselves and thinks they have talent, they should try it,” Manilow said. “You just have to keep going at it and don’t give up.”
The public can cast its vote for The Manilow Music Teacher Award at TradableBits.com. for these CMS nominees :
Chris Moreau, East Mecklenburg High School
Kathryn Heinen, East Mecklenburg High School
Cole Freeman, Myers Park High School
Stephanie Madsen, Northwest School of the Arts
Kristin Stonnell, Northwest School of the Arts
Erica Hefner, Northwest School of the Arts
Walter Suggs, Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology
Quinten Wrenn, William Amos Hough High School
Kevin Herriman, North Mecklenburg High School
Whit Blount, Myers Park High School
Participants must be 13 years of age or older to vote. Voting ends on Dec. 28.
