Taylor Swift Opens Music Center
Taylor Swift was in Nashville Saturday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum. The occasion was the opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center. The superstar donated $4 million last year to build the center, located on the third floor of the newly expanded building. Museum Executive Director Kyle Young asked Taylor some questions:
Let’s begin with your relationship with the Hall of Fame. I’m assuming this place means something? This museum means so much to me, having signed my record deal here, that’s a memory I’m never going to forget. You can sign your record deal anywhere, but to have it happen here was something I was proud of. Back then, there was no incentive for you to do that, so I appreciate you doing that. Then having to get to participate in All For The Hall, getting to hang out with Kris Kristofferson, or meet Emmylou Harris is something I will never forget. It feels like there’s a new wave of interest in Nashville, and that’s because there’s a place where they can come and not only learn about the legends, but also get an inside scoop of what’s happening today.
Talk about music education: For me, what I appreciate about the Education center was the priority was opening the classrooms first. There will be an exhibit later on. I would learn about music in school but there are so many hours in the day, and they can only focus on so many things, so most of my music education happened outside of school. I’m so glad this will be a space where that’s available, there will be demonstrations and instruments that kids can try without having to buy one for themselves.
Talk about songwriting: It began as a coping mechanism. It began as something I did because I didn’t have much of a social life. I began writing at 12, and so I’d write songs because I didn’t get invited to somebody’s birthday party, and in a way, I felt I belonged because I’d written a song. Songwriting has gone from those feelings to helping me cope with every other emotion in my life. It was always a way to help me understand what I felt.
Your parents are here today, how did they encourage you? There was so much music in the house, music of so many kinds, which is why melodically I skip around.
What’s next? Well next, I actually leave for South Africa tomorrow, to go shoot a movie with Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. After that, I’m going to be making the next record. But then we go to Australia and New Zealand for our stadium tour there.
The movie is called “The Giver,” directed by Phil Noyce, also stars Katie Holmes, and is based on Lois Lowry’s futuristic novel. It’s set to open in August 2014.
Then Kyle Young brought up the Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, Bart Herbison, who presented Taylor with a special plaque, commemorating six straight wins of the group’s Artist/Writer of the Year. No other writer has won this award six times, and Taylor was the youngest person to ever win the award.
Then Taylor presented Kyle Young with the first guitar she ever bought. “This is the first guitar I obsessed over and ended up buying, I wrote some of my first songs on it when I was 14, it’s a Koa Taylor guitar, and I think you guys should have it.”
Finally, Taylor walked over to the entrance of the Educational Center and cut the red ribbon.
The Taylor Swift Education Center includes three classrooms, a family and student art gallery, and an interactive exhibit gallery. The gallery will open in March 2014. One classroom is filled with instruments, called a “Musical Petting Zoo,” where students can play a variety of stringed instruments. They also expect to have music and songwriting workshops, dance programs, concerts, and letterpress programs (led by the Museum-owned Hatch Show Print). The rooms will be available for summer camp workshops, after school programs, and even themed birthday parties.
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